A #NorthCarolina man who claimed to be “on neighborhood watch,” shot and killed 20-year-old #KourenRodneyBernardThomas, after telling a 911 dispatcher he was going to secure his neighborhood from “hoodlums.”
On August 8, #ChadCopley, 39, called 911 urging the operator to send authorities as soon as possible, saying he was going to confront a “bunch of hoodlums” outside of his home, the Washington Post reports.
“We got a bunch of hoodlums out here racing,” Copley told the dispatcher. “I’m going outside to secure my neighborhood.”
“I’m on neighborhood watch. I am going to have the neighborhood meet these hoodlums out here racing up and down the street. It’s 1 in the morning. There’s some devil in them. They have firearms and we’re going to secure our neighborhood. If I was you, I would send PD out here as quickly as possible.”
After the incident occurred, Copley called emergency services once again to explain what happened.
“I yelled at them, ‘Please leave the premises,’” he said. “They were showing firearms, so I fired a warning shot and uh, we got somebody that got hit…” The dispatcher pried for more information to understand the severity of the situation. “Please just send a car,” Copley replied. “There’s friggin’ black males outside my friggin’ house with firearms. Please, send PD. Thank you.”
According to the #WashingtonPost, when officers arrived they found Thomas with a gunshot wound. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead shortly after.
Thomas’s friend, David Walker, who accompanied the 20-year-old on the night of the incident, explained what happened from his point of view.
Apparently, the two friends intended to crash a party on the street where Copley lived. After waiting for permission to enter, the boys decided to go back home. As they left, Thomas started running at the sight of what he thought were police lights. When Walker confirmed that the coast was clear, Thomas looked back toward his friend and that is when shots were fired.
Some details of the fatal encounter are still unclear, however, Copley has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
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