Racism + Guns = Death. Again.

[Content Note: Racism; eliminationism; guns; death.]

This fucking George Zimmerman wannabe piece of shit right here:

A white man who apparently called police to complain about "hoodlums" near his house was charged with murder after he shot and killed a black man outside, authorities said.

The shooting happened early Sunday morning when 39-year-old Chad Cameron Copley fired a shotgun from inside his garage and hit the victim, according to a Raleigh Police Department news release. He was arrested hours later on a murder charge.

Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas, 20, suffered a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police spokeswoman Laura Hourigan said Thomas was black.

...Police released an audio recording of a 911 call that came in shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday in which a male caller tells a dispatcher that he's "locked and loaded" and preparing to go outside. Saying there are people outside with guns, he tells the dispatcher he is on neighborhood watch and asks them to send police.

"We've got a bunch of hoodlums out here racing," he said. "I am locked and loaded. I'm going outside to secure my neighborhood."

So, let's pause right there to make sure we're all on the same page. This white guy sees some Black men outside his house. He immediately decides they are "hoodlums," and feels as though he is endangered by their very presence. So he calls police, which itself is unnecessary (and possibly dangerous for these young men, depending on which cops show up), and then doesn't even bother waiting for police to arrive before heading out with a loaded weapon.

In fact, not only does he not wait for police, but he refuses to give his address and hangs up. Which means, by any reasonable interpretation, that he doesn't want this to end any other way. He is just looking for a damn excuse to kill some Black guys in his neighborhood, and called 911 only to try to establish justification.

Less than ten minutes later, "an upset female caller" called back, providing the address.

The dispatcher asks what happened.

"I don't know I'm upstairs with our children," the female caller says.

She then gives the phone to what sounds like the same male caller from earlier.

"We have a lot of people outside of our house yelling and shouting profanity. I yelled at them 'please leave the premises.' They were showing firearms so I fired a warning shot," he said. "And, uh, we got somebody that got hit."

After the dispatcher asks if someone was shot, the male caller responds: "I don't know if they're shot or not. I fired my warning shot like I'm supposed to by law. ... They do have firearms and I'm trying to protect myself and my family."

After the dispatcher asks who was outside, the caller says: "There's black males outside my freaking house with firearms."

One way that Copley could have "protected himself and his family" was to simply stay inside the house. And, let's be clear: Although he claims the men had weapons, that doesn't actually mean they did. And even he doesn't claim they fired any shots, or tried to get into his house.

He conjured an imaginary threat in order to rationalize using his weapon to kill Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas. That's it.

I am relieved that police appear to see it that way, too, and that Copley has been charged with murder. (I hope prosecutors and a jury will agree with police.) But I am so, so angry and sad that Thomas is dead. A murder charge is a relief, because it means his life matters to the system, but he is dead because his life did not matter to a fearful and hateful white man with a gun.

My sincerest condolences to Thomas' family and friends. I take up space in grief with them.

(Countdown to the news that Copley has a history of domestic violence in 3...2...)