Prosecutors in Michigan are coming under mounting pressure to charge a homeowner who shot and killed an unarmed black woman on his porch as she was seeking help after a car accident.
Renisha McBride (19) was found dead early last Saturday from a gunshot wound to the head. Her body was strewn on the porch of the house in Dearborn Heights.
Anger is building in the largely African American area of Detroit in which McBride lived, with the family comparing her death to that of Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed in Florida in February 2012 by a neighbourhood watch co-ordinator, George Zimmerman, who was later acquitted of manslaughter. Like Florida, Michigan has a "stand your ground" law that allows individuals to use deadly force if they feel their life is in imminent danger or they are faced with physical harm or sexual assault.
It is understood the homeowner, who has been interviewed by detectives, is claiming self-defence, though it is not known whether he has invoked the “stand your ground” provision.
Relatives of McBride have told local media that she was shot in the back of the head as she turned to leave the porch. Authorities have confirmed that she was shot in the head, though the suggestion that she was hit from behind is unconfirmed.
'Racist'
"I'm feeling this was racist," said McBride's aunt Bernita Spinks She told the local Fox TV station WJBK. "You see this black African young lady, knocking for help. He didn't even see what kind of help she was seeking."
Spinks told the Detroit News that "there was no window broken. My niece didn't bother anyone. She went looking for help and now she's dead."
McBride’s cousin Dmetria Burnett said: “You wanted her dead, that’s my opinion.”
Relatives said McBride had been in a crash in her Ford Taurus about four blocks away. Disoriented by the accident, she had been walking through the mainly white neighbourhood knocking on doors seeking help.
Prosecutors have said they are not at this stage pressing charges against the homeowner, who police have so far declined to identify but is believed to be in his 50s. Wayne County prosecutor’s office said it had returned a police request for a warrant of arrest against the man, asking for further investigation before any decision over potential charges is made.
The family say the fact the homeowner did not call 911 is evidence of racial profiling against McBride.
– (Guardian service)