Man Finally Charged with Murder in Renisha McBride Shooting
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced today that it will bring charges of second-degree murder against a Dearborn Heights man who shot and killed Renisha McBride in the early morning hours of November 2.
In the days since McBride's shooting, more details about exactly what went down that morning have slowly trickled out amidst a sea of racial tension, with some comparing the incident to the recent Trayvon Martin killing. Here's what we now know: McBride had been in a car accident sometime after midnight. Witnesses called 911 to report that a woman had hit a parked car and left the scene with a bleeding wound on her head, but police weren't immediately dispatched because the accident was considered a low priority. Toxicology reports show that McBride, who was 19, had a blood alcohol level of .218, more than twice Michigan's legal limit for driving. She also had marijuana in her system.
Shortly before 4 A.M., McBride, whose cellphone battery had died, showed up on the porch of a 54-year-old white man now identified as Theodore P. Wafer. It's unclear how long McBride was on Wafer's porch, or what exactly she said to Wafer—it's assumed she was asking for help—but the interaction ended with Wafer shooting the teenager in the face with a shotgun. Wafer would later tell police that he thought McBride was an intruder and that his gun discharged "accidentally."
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said today that there was no evidence McBride was attempting to break into Wafer's home. Reports the Associated Press (emphasis ours):
Worthy said evidence showed McBride knocked on the locked screen door, and that there was no evidence of forced entry.
"These are the appropriate charges and he did not act in lawful self-defense," Worthy said.
Wafer is not currently in police custody, but authorities are asking him to turn himself in before a scheduled arraignment at 2 P.M. today.
Update: This post has been updated to note that McBride was on Wafer's porch around 4 A.M., not at 2:30 A.M. as had been initially reported.