Shooting of Renisha McBride

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Shooting of Renisha McBride
Wayne County Michigan Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Dearborn Heights highlighted.svg
Location of Dearborn Heights in the state of Michigan.
Time 4:42 am
Date November 2, 2013 (2013-11-02)
Location West Outer Drive, Dearborn Heights, Michigan, United States
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Deaths Renisha McBride
Non-fatal injuries Shot in the eye by Theodore Wafer
Suspect(s) Theodore Wafer
Charges Second-degree murder
Manslaughter
Possession of a firearm during commission of a felony
Verdict Guilty of all charges
Litigation $10 million lawsuit filed against Wafer by Renisha McBride's family[1]

The shooting of Renisha McBride, a 19-year-old African-American woman, occurred on November 2, 2013, in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, United States. Renisha McBride crashed her car at a street in Detroit, and then walked to a neighborhood in Dearborn Heights where she knocked on the door of a house. The homeowner, Theodore Wafer, shot McBride with a shotgun. Wafer contended that the shooting was accidental and that he thought his home was being broken into after he heard her banging on his door at 4:42 in the morning.[2]

The shooting prompted some to claim her death was a result of racial profiling.[3]

Wafer was convicted of second-degree murder on August 7, 2014,[4] and received a sentence of 17 to 32 years in prison.

Shooting

On November 2, 2013, McBride crashed her car at Bramell and Majestic on the west side of Detroit. Police report that the 911 caller said a woman had been speeding down the street, struck a parked car, got out of the vehicle, and then left on foot. Police initially considered the incident a low priority, so no officers were immediately dispatched. Forty minutes later, another call was placed indicating that the driver had returned. EMS arrived on the scene, but McBride had again walked away from the scene and was not treated.[5] The owner of the parked car, who encountered McBride and called 911, told police that McBride was "discombobulated" and appeared to be in a "confused state of not knowing where she was and not being able to give a phone number or anything."[6]

Shortly before 4:42 am, McBride was shot by homeowner Theodore Paul Wafer, 54, on the porch of his Dearborn Heights home, more than three hours after she crashed her car about a mile away.[7][8][9] Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy stated Wafer opened his front door and fired a shotgun blast through a screen door, hitting McBride in her face.[7]

It is unclear what McBride was doing during the three hours between the crash and the fatal shooting.[8] Her family, however, states that she was looking for help after becoming disoriented by the crash, in which she may have sustained a head injury.[3][10] The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office reported that she was highly intoxicated at the time of her death.[8] Wafer initially stated to police that he thought his home was being broken into and that he had accidentally fired his 12-gauge shotgun.[8] Firearms expert David Balash, who is testifying for the defense, believes the screen in the outer door was out of its frame before the shot was fired, a theory that suggests McBride may have knocked it out of place, causing alarm in the homeowner. Prosecutors blame the blast for the displacement.[6]

Legal proceedings

On November 15, 2013, the Wayne County's prosecutor office announced its decision to prosecute Wafer for second-degree murder, manslaughter, and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.[7][11] Wafer faced a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment for the second-degree murder charge and 15 years for manslaughter, and an additional two years for the felony gun charge.[12]

The trial began on June 2014.[2] Wafer was found guilty of all three charges on August 7, 2014.[13]

On September 3, 2014, Wafer was sentenced to 17 to 32 years of prison. He received 15 to 30 years for second-degree murder, and a mandatory two-year sentence for the felony firearms charge.[1][14]

Reaction

After the shooting, protesters and well-known civil rights figures such as Reverend Al Sharpton demanded prosecution of the white homeowner, likening the shooting to the February 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin and stating that McBride may have been racially profiled.[15][16] One legal expert noted that a difference between the two cases is that the timeline of events was much clearer in the shooting of Martin.[17] Regardless, the shooting became a symbol in the debate over "stand your ground" laws.[18] Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy stated that the decision to charge Wafer had "nothing to do whatsoever with the race of the parties," but expressed no opinion regarding whether race would later become relevant.[15]

McBride's death is one of several deaths of African Americans protested by the Black Lives Matter movement.[19][20]

See also

  • Werner Spitz, defense witness and former Wayne County medical examiner

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Foley, Aaron. State seeks 17 years for Michigan porch shooter, Yahoo News, August 28, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Abbey-Lambertz, Kate. Trial Date Set For Theodore Wafer, Man Charged In Renisha McBride Shooting, Huffington Post, April 30, 2014.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Foley, Aaron. Tearful judge gives man 17 years for Michigan porch shooting, Reuters, September 3, 2014.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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