An autopsy confirmed 19-year-old Renisha McBride was shot in the face by a Detroit homeowner who said he accidently fired thinking she was a burglar around 4 a.m. on Nov. 2, the Associated Press reported.
McBride was not a burglar, but was looking for help after she was involved in a car accident with a parked car on the road near the predominantly white neighborhood of Dearborn Heights, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Police spokesman Sgt. Michael Woody said someone called in to report a no-injury car accident on the city's West side where a woman was reported as speeding down the street, hit a parked car, and then got out of the vehicle and left, according to the Free Press.
The 54-year-old homeowner told police he thought someone was trying to break into his house when he accidentally fired his 12-gauge shotgun, according to the Free Press. McBride was shot in the face while standing on his porch.
According to a report released by the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, McBride's death was a homicide, but there is no evidence she was shot at close range, the AP reported.
Cheryl Carpenter, the homeowners attorney, said her client was awoken to sounds of "a person or persons" trying to break into his home, and that the shooting was justified, the AP reported.
Carpenter said she and her client "recognize it's a tragedy and a 19-year-old woman died," adding "let's wait and not prejudice, nobody including the police, the prosecutor or the public has all the information yet," according to the AP.
There's no information on what happened in the two hours from the time McBride got into the accident around 1 a.m., and arrived in Dearborn Heights, according to the Free Press.
Last week, Dearborn Heights police said in a statement there was no indication race played a role in the shooting, though the investigation is still underway, the Free Press reported. McBride's family and civil rights group are demanding a full investigation and prosecution stating McBride was reacted to in such a cruel manner because of her race, the AP reported.
The 54-year-old has not been charged and prosecutors say they're reviewing the case.
Sgt. Woody said police did not immediately respond to the no-injury 911 call, and showed up 40 minutes later after a second call was received stating the woman had returned, but McBride had already left again, the Free Press reported.
A source close to the investigation said the vehicle was a 2004 Ford Taurus which was registered under McBride's father's name and had front-end damage due to the crash, according to the Free Press.
Gerald Thurswell, the attorney representing McBride's family, said he heard from sources McBride was confused after the accident and kept saying she "wanted to go home."
"I received a phone call on Friday from a woman who said that she lived in the neighborhood and had heard the crash," Thurswell told the Free Press. "It was her understanding that after the crash, Renisha got out of the car, she was bleeding and that somebody called 911."
Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the Wayne County's prosecutor office said Monday the warrant review process is currently underway and they are waiting on more information from the Dearborn Heights police, according to the AP.
"The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office is waiting for several items relating to the investigation from the Dearborn Heights Police Department at this time," Miller said.
