A man had recently purchased some property in Barboursville, West Virginia and was curious to explore it. He invited his brother along to show him around. While out on his newly acquired property, a man who owned property adjacent to it thought they were trying to break into a building he mistakenly thought was on his property and, without warning or confrontation, shot both men dead.
Police say after they arrested Rodney Bruce Black and charged him with two counts of first degree murder he told them he killed the men for breaking and entering a building on his property, which turned out to be on the victim’s property and was rightfully the victim’s to look through.
Police say they are “baffled” as to why Black chose to murder the men without even attempting to contact police or ask them what they were doing. Instead, he grabbed his rifle and calmly shot both of them before they even knew he was there.
“He shot first and then called 911,” Sheriff Tom McComas said. “He said they were breaking into his house but it wasn’t his property.”
The two victims, identified as brothers Garrick and Carl Hopkins, died at the scene.
Making the already senseless crime even more so, Black admitted to police that he didn’t believe there was anything of value in the shed he saw the two victims looking into. Apparently, it was just out of principle that he decided to grab his gun and play judge, jury, and executioner.
After his arrest, police found a large cache of guns and ammo in Black’s house. While the shooter was white and both victims were black, police say they are not looking at race as a motive in the killings. It’s of course difficult to prove what was going on in Black’s head at the time of the killings, and harder still to prove that in court, but this case is part of a larger trend of black people being mistakenly (or in this case, intentionally) shot by white people because they are perceived as threats.
A highly publicized police shooting in Charlotte, N.C. started when a black man who had crashed his car went to a house looking for help but was perceived to be an intruder. The home owner called 911, not to report the crash, but to report a possible break in. The man was eventually shot to death by a white police officer responding to the call. Was the home owner racist? Not necessarily. But was his or her experience shaded by preconceived notions about black men? Certainly.
In a case in Florida, a man who was getting gas next to a car full of black teenagers ended up firing eight shots into their vehicle because he “thought” he saw a shotgun being aimed at him. He killed one of the boys. When police searched the vehicle no guns were found. Despite that, the shooter claimed self-defense in court.
Cases like these highlight what many African Americans already know. It can be dangerous just being black around people who are on edge. It’s for this reason that many black parents have to teach their kids to be extra accommodating in high stress situations. No sudden movements around cops. Be overly friendly. Hands where the officer can see them at all times. It’s often times a matter of life and death.
Again, it’s impossible to say whether this particular shooter was racially biased or simply generally violent. Would he have shot two white men looking into a shed? We will never know.
Hopkins was planning on building a home for he and his wife in the next few weeks. Both victims leave behind children.
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