RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA — A black man was shot and killed early Sunday morning outside a house party in Raleigh, North Carolina by a white resident who claimed he was on “neighborhood watch.” <br /> <br />The victim, 20-year-old Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas, was with a friend at a house party at 1 a.m. early Sunday morning when he was gunned down by 39-year-old Chad Cameron Copley, according to a report in the News & Observer. <br /> <br />Copley called 911 and said “a bunch of hoodlums” were racing around around outside shouting profanities. He told the dispatcher he was quote, “locked and loaded.” <br /> <br />Meanwhile, Thomas and his friend were about to leave the party. Thomas, who had marijuana on him, thought he saw police lights and decided to flee, according to the Washington Post. <br /> <br />Copley called 911 again, saying he had “fired a warning shot” and “we got somebody that got hit.” <br /> <br />“I fired my warning shot like I’m supposed to by law,” he continued. “They do have firearms, and I’m trying to protect myself and my family. Please just send a car. There’s friggin’ black males outside my friggin’ house with firearms. Please, send PD. Thank you.” <br /> <br />Thomas’s friend David Walker told ABC News that no one at the party had a gun and no one had shouted profanities. <br /> <br />When police arrived at the scene, they saw Thomas lying on the ground. He was later pronounced dead at WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh. <br /> <br />Police arrested Copley at the scene. He was taken to Wake County jail and has been charged with first-degree murder. He could face death penalty if convicted. <br /> <br />Thomas’ mother Munyir Simone Butler Thomas has created a GoFundMe page to cover his funeral expenses.
