Homeowner charged in Michigan shooting

Prosecutors today announced charges against a suburban Detroit homeowner in the racially-charged case of a 19-year-old black woman who was fatally shot in the face on his porch.
The shooting has gained national attention, prompting calls for a thorough investigation from civil rights groups that say race was a factor.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said that Theodore P Wafer, 54, of Dearborn Heights faces charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Renisha McBride on November 2. She was shot in the face after police say they believe she was involved in a car accident nearby in Detroit and family members say she likely approached Wafer's home for help.

McBride was an African-American. Wafer is white, a spokeswoman for Worthy said. Prosecutors insisted that race was not relevant.
"In this case, the charging decision has absolutely nothing to do with the race of the parties," Worthy said today.
McBride's death has been compared to that of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old boy shot by a suspicious neighbor in Florida. The 2012 shooting death of Martin, black and unarmed, and the acquittal this year of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman stirred racial tensions. It sparked debate over so-called stand your ground laws that protect gun owners who claim to shoot in self-defense in Florida and at least 22 other states, including Michigan.

Under a 2006 Michigan self-defense law, a homeowner has the right to use force during a break-in. Otherwise, a person must show that his or her life was in danger.

Prosecutors said evidence showed McBride knocked on the locked screen door, and that there was no evidence of forced entry.
"These are the appropriate charges and he did not act in lawful self-defense," Worthy said.
Worthy said Wafer is not in custody and that prosecutors will ask him to turn himself in. An arraignment will be set after that happens, Worthy said.
The Associated Press tried to leave a message for Wafer's attorney, Cheryl Carpenter, but her voicemail was full.

Few details of the circumstances surrounding the shooting were made public before the news conference. Police say they believe McBride was involved in a car accident several blocks north in Detroit before the shooting.