DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The shooting of 19-year-old Renisha McBride in the City of Dearborn Heights on Nov. 2nd has garnered national media attention, after her family made claims that her death may have been the cause of racial profiling. 

But even as public outcry surrounding the case continues to grow, new questions have emerged in the hours leading up to her death, which took place in the neighborhood near Outer Drive and Warren Ave, the north-tail end of the City, bordering the west side of Detroit. McBride was an African American resident of Detroit and a former employee at Ford Motors. 

Initial reports had stated that McBride was involved in a car accident, prior to knocking on a Dearborn Heights residential home around 3:30 a.m., after her cell phone battery had died. A man living in the home, answered the door and fired a handgun that automatically killed her.

McBride.

The identity of the man has not been released, although authorities have confirmed that he is a 54-year-old single white male.  Just days after the incident, reports indicated that the man had shot McBride in her back, believing she was an intruder. However, her autopsy this week reveals that she was shot directly in the face, but not at close range. Dearborn Heights Police say the man had told investigators that his gun had accidentally discharged.

The man was initially arrested following the incident, but was released from custody the next  day with no pending charges. Since the incident, McBride’s family, civil rights groups and civil rights leaders including  Rev. Al Sharpton and U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, called for justice and a thorough investigation into the case by the Wayne County Prosecutors office. 

“This death appears to be an overreaction to a young woman in need of help. Was this racial profiling? Was this shooting warranted when the evidence indicates that Ms.McBride had no weapon, created no disturbance, threatened no break-in, or demonstrated no disrespect to the household in question? So before anyone tries to invoke the issue of ‘stand your ground’, let us first of all stand on the facts,” said the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Detroit Chapter (NAACP) in a press release.

At protests held outside of the Dearborn Heights Police Department on Thursday, Nov. 7 and in the Dearborn Heights neighborhood on Monday, Nov. 11, dozens compared McBride’s death to that of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year old boy who was shot to death in Florida by a neighborhood watch coordinator.

While Dearborn Heights police have urged the national media to not compare the incident to that of Martin, some are already noting the similarities. In recent months, the Dearborn Heights Police Department had been urging residents to form neighborhood watch groups as a response to a recent trend of growing home invasions. 

Reported crimes in the City’s north section off of Joy Rd, Hazelton, Ann Arbor Trail, Outer Drive and Telegraph Rd, have been common,  placing many residents on alert. According to the shooter’s lawyer, Bloomfield Hills criminal defense attorney Cheryl Carpenter, he is “torn up” as the incident is weighing heavily on him.

“He was sleeping and he was awakened between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. by sounds of a person trying to come into his home,” said Carpenter. “The shooting is a tragedy for everybody involved.”

McBride’s family lawyer meanwhile says that the shooter needs to be convicted, because the autopsy report reveals that McBride had been directly facing him when she was shot.

“It’s very, very, very hard to believe that it was an accident when the gun is in her face, and it goes off accidentally,” Attorney Gerald Thurswell stated.  “Somebody had to have their finger on the trigger. He was in a safe place — he was in his house and he didn’t have to open the door. He could’ve called 911 to protect himself. And if she was seeking help, he could’ve called 911 to get her help.”

Meanwhile a bizarre narrative of the hours leading up to McBride’s death have emerged this week. The Detroit Police Department confirms that the accident involving McBride had actually taken place hours prior to her death, six blocks away from the Dearborn Heights neighborhood where she was killed. 

Detroit police say they received a phone call from a resident just before 1:00 a.m., on Nov. 2, of a car accident involving a 2004 Ford Taurus, registered under McBride’s father. The witness told police that McBride had been speeding down Bramell street and crashed her vehicle into a parked car. She then had left the scene on foot with some apparent bodily injuries. Detroit Police, having classified the phone call as a low priority, did not arrive to the scene until 40 minutes later, but McBride was nowhere to be found. Her vehicle suffered front-end damage and was immediately towed. According to the police department, a second call had been made to Detroit Police, claiming that McBride had returned to the scene of the crash, appearing dazed and confused, before walking off once again. 

The Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) also released a statement about McBride’s death this week. The group says it will look into the case, and will continue to monitor the situation as well. In a letter sent to Dearborn Heights Police Chief Lee Gavin, the ACRL stated “Such audacious violence adversely affects communities of individuals of every creed, color and background.” 

Mayor Dan Paletko of Dearborn Heights declined to comment on the story, stating the case is now in the hands of the Wayne County prosecutors office. The prosecutors office said this week that they have begun the warrant review process and will release information when they determine if charges will be filed in the case.