Black Woman Shot to Death for Asking for Help in a White Neighborhood

Last Saturday morning at around 2:30am 19-year-old Renisha McBride got into a car accident in Dearborn Heights, a predominately white Detroit suburb. Because her cell phone battery was dead, she went to nearby home for assistance. That might seem like the reasonable and understandable thing to do, but it was the biggest mistake of McBride’s short life.

The unnamed person who answered the door didn’t offer to help the stranded teen out, instead the Dearborn Heights resident fatally shot McBride in the head.

Weirdly, Dearborn Heights police initially told McBride’s family that her body was found dumped in another area of town, but they’ve since changed their story, saying she was shot in self-defense on the homeowner’s front porch. Naturally, Michigan is a Stand Your Ground state — sound familiar?

As Rania Khalek points out:

Even if that’s the case, and there’s reason to believe it’s not, the shooter still failed to call 911 after shooting an unarmed woman in the head, instead leaving her their to die. Does that sound like the behavior of a law-abiding gunowner who made a tragic mistake?

No. No it does not.

Police have asked Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for charges to be filed against the unnamed resident who shot McBride. We’ll see how well that pans out.