Family wants answers in shooting of woman seeking help

Niraj Warikoo and Bill Laitner | Detroit Free Press

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. — Police say a homeowner told investigators his shotgun accidentally discharged, shooting a 19-year-old Detroit woman to death as she stood on the porch of his home early Saturday.

Members of 19-year-old Renisha McBride's family said they believe the African-American woman was racially profiled by the homeowner. They said McBride, whose cellphone had died, had gone up to the house on Outer Drive seeking help after she was involved in an auto accident early Saturday morning.

"This man's claiming — believed the girl was breaking into the home. And he's also saying the gun discharged accidentally," Lt. James Serwatowski, chief detective, said Thursday.

Police are also countering the family's account that McBride was shot in the back of the head with a shotgun as she turned to leave. The family said she had gone to the house seeking help after being involved in a car accident several blocks away.

"This girl was not shot in the back of the head while leaving the porch," Serwatowski said "I don't know where the family is getting this. She was shot in the front of the face, near the mouth."

"I know the family is anxious to see this man (the alleged shooter) charged, but the prosecutor's office is telling us they want a lot more information before they make a decision," Serwatowski said.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office reiterated Thursday that it is awaiting further investigation by Dearborn Heights police before deciding whether any criminal charges will be authorized in the case.

"I'll confirm that she was in an accident in Detroit and that she left the accident scene, and then some hours transpired" before the shooting, Serwatowski said.

Serwatowski said the shooting occurred about 3:40 a.m. and the accident happened at about 1:30 a.m. He declined to say what police believe McBride was doing before and after the accident.

The homeowner's .12-gauge was seized by police and the Michigan State Police crime lab is analyzing it, Serwatowski said.

Police have not released the name of the homeowner.

Activists are planning to rally at 6 p.m. Thursday outside the Dearborn Heights Police station over McBride's death.

"Black life is not valued in America, not worthy, not respected," said Detroit activist Yusef Shaker, who is helping lead the rally. "Here was a woman who was seeking help from potential danger and her life was taken. ... It's a Trayvon Martin case all over again."

Writer dream hampton and Illana Weaver, a Detroit rapper known as Invincible, are also helping organize the protest, Shaker said.

The rally is about "recognizing the value of a woman and the value of a black person," Shaker said.

An assistant to Dearborn Heights Police Chief Lee Gavin declined comment on the rally.

McBride compared the shooting of her niece to that of Trayvon Martin, the African-American teen shot dead in Florida by George Zimmerman in a case that ignited a national debate over racial profiling and stand-your-ground laws. Zimmerman, who claimed self-defense, was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter but later acquitted by a jury.

"Why didn't he call 911?" asked Bernita Spinks, 48, an aunt of McBride. "That's what I want to know. ... It's racial profiling."

In McBride's case, Spinks said: "He could have called the police. She wasn't in the backyard. She was at the front door knocking ... that man had the time to look out his window."

McBride's family said they were told the house was about four blocks away from where the accident occurred. Spinks said McBride had been driving her 2001 white Ford Taurus when she struck another car, parked and walked to find help.

"She was disoriented. She was scared. And this is what she got, knocking on a door," Spinks said. "All I want is justice for Renisha. It makes me enraged."

The area where the shooting took place is a mix of residential and business.

Grieving family members gathered Wednesday night at the house in northwest Detroit where McBride lived with her grandmother, mother and her 22-year-old sister.

Her parents were overcome with grief and unable to speak to a reporter, Spinks said. But all shared outrage over what happened.

A graduate of Southfield High School, McBride was known as a friendly person who worked hard, Spinks said. McBride recently got a job at the Ford Rouge plant in Dearborn on the inspection line, she said.

"She was sweet," Spinks said. "She didn't get into trouble."

House of Prayer and Praise — the Detroit church attended by McBride's father — will hold services for her Friday, said co-pastor Valorie Bennett.

"It's terrible," she said Wednesday of the shooting.

"No one should have to suffer that way. The explanations that we've gotten just say this was a terrible injustice that shouldn't have happened," she said.

Contributing: Free Press reporter Elisha Anderson