Renisha McBride's Killer Called 911 to Report Shooting, Hung Up

The 19-year-old was shot in the face and killed outside a Michigan home.

ByABC News
November 13, 2013, 10:02 AM

Nov. 13, 2013 — -- In the audio of 9-1-1 sending police officers to the scene of Michigan teen Renisha McBride's shooting death, the dispatcher reportedly described receiving a call from a man who said he shot someone on his porch and then hung up.

"Just received a 911 call from a male, thinks he just shot someone on his porch, then he hung up. We're trying to call back," the dispatcher said in audio obtained by the Detroit News.

"We have the male on the line, says he doesn't know this person ... trying to get further," the dispatcher said shortly after.

A responding officer can be heard telling the dispatcher, "There's somebody down on the porch ... it appears it's going to be a black female."

Listen to the police scanner audio here.

The victim was McBride, 19, who was killed outside the home after a car accident in Dearborn Heights, Mich., early on the morning of Nov. 2.

Her family is demanding a conviction for the shooter, who has been neither arrested nor charged, and the woman's autopsy results showed that she died from a gunshot wound to the face.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's' Office said today that it has "received the additional investigation from the Dearborn Heights Police Department" and that the warrant review process is ongoing.

"News will be released when a charging decision has been made," the office said.

"The family is more concerned in getting a conviction after he's charged than just getting him charged," McBride family attorney Gerald Thurswell told ABCNews.com today. "The only way justice will be served is by getting a conviction, not just by filing charges."

McBride's family has said they believe the woman was going door-to-door looking for help after her car broke down and her cellphone died.

McBride's autopsy report from the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, released Monday, shows that she was shot in the face and there was "no evidence of close range discharge of a firearm."

The death was ruled a homicide, but the unnamed shooter, to whom police said they have spoken, has not been arrested.The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office declined to issue a warrant last week and asked police to investigate further.

Attorney Thurswell said the family has faith that the prosecutor will act in their favor and they appreciate her careful consideration, which he said includes investigators from the prosecutor's office, in addition to police investigators.

The attorney believes the media reports that the shooter is a 54-year-old, white male are correct. Police have not identified the shooter by name because he has not been charged.

The incident has drawn national attention and raised questions for some people about whether the shooting could have been racially motivated.

Thurswell said many questions remain about what happened in the moments leading up to the shooting, including whether the shooter looked out the window before he came outside, whether his porch light was on or turned on in the middle of the night, as well as when and whether he determined McBride's race, African-American.

"Whether it was racially motivated or it wasn't racially motivated, justice will only be served with this man's conviction," he said.

Authorities told the Detroit Free Press that the shooter told police he "believed the girl was breaking into the home" and that the "gun discharged accidentally."

Thurswell does not believe that Michigan's "Stand Your Ground" law will hold up in this case.

"He [the shooter] has to believe reasonably that his life was in imminent danger and there's no way a 5-foot-4-inches woman, unarmed, facing the shotgun is going to cause him to feel that he's in imminent danger," Thurswell said. "He may make the claim, but it will never fly."

The alleged shooter's attorney did not immediately respond to request for comment. The Dearborn Heights Police Department has not responded to multiple requests for comment.