Racial discord among Raleigh neighbors after shooting
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- There is mixed reaction from neighbors off Singleleaf Lane about the shooting that ended the life of a 20-year-old black man. Chad Copley, a white man is charged with his murder.
Ana Rodriguez lives off Singleleaf Lane. She said she believe the shooting was a form of discrimination -- something she said plagues her neighborhood. She is ready to move.
RELATED: RALEIGH MAN ACCUSED OF MURDER SAYS HE WAS PROTECTING HIS HOME
"One of the reasons I'm leaving out is because this neighborhood is very prejudice," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said some of her neighbors are not welcoming to people of certain ethnicities.
For the past two years, she says, neighbors have been quick to scrutinize, stereotype and complain to their homeowner's association.
She recalls being scolded by a neighbor for some misbehaving kids that weren't even hers.
"Recently, I was in the yard when a lady said 'oh the kids are running around. Are those your kids?' I said 'no, I don't have any kids.' And she said 'oh (I thought) because of your skin complexion.' I just stood quiet and left."
Adding to Rodriquez's concern of alleged discrimination is the release of 911 calls from the murder suspect, her neighbor, Copley.
Police said he shot and killed Kouren Thomas from inside his garage Saturday night.
Thomas was outside the home-shortly after leaving a party two doors down.
911 Call:
Caller: There's a black male outside my freaking house with a firearm please send PD.
Operator: Can you tell me exactly what happened?
Caller: We have a lot of people outside of our house. Yelling and shouting profanities. I yelled at them please leave the premises. They were showing firearms. I fired a warning shot. And uh, we got somebody that got hit.
But other neighbors are not so quick to pull the race card -- saying the neighborhood is diverse-and the shooting doesn't have anything to do with skin color; rather, the suspect just made a bad decision.
"It's stupid for someone to shoot out of a door like that. It doesn't make any sense," said Cary Poe.
"I just think this situation deteriorated in the wrong way," said John MacDonald.
RELATED: RALEIGH POLICE: SUSPECT SHOOTS, KILLS MAN WITH SHOTGUN
Police have not released details on whether the victim was armed at the time of the shooting.
Copley is currently being held in the Wake County jail on murder charges. His attorney is urging people not to rush to judgement.
Meanwhile, Thomas' family has hired well-known civil rights attorney Justin Bamberg from South Carolina. He most recently represented the family of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge.
A GoFundMe page has also been set up by Thomas' family to pay for funeral expenses.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE OR DONATE TO THE GOFUNDME
We understand the suspect in this case is the son-in-law of reporter Greg Barnes. This was a shock to him and all of us at ABC11. We'll continue to give updates as we get them
