Teen Seeks Help After Crash, Homeowner Kills Her

Seeking help turned out to be deadly for a black Detroit teen after her car broke down in the suburb of Dearborn Heights. Police say Renisha McBride, 19, was killed by a shotgun blast to the head on a man's front porch at around 2:30am Saturday, reports the Detroit News. She had been in a car accident nearby and her cell phone battery was dead. Police have not released the shooter's identity or race, but McBride's family—who says she was shot in the back of the head—believes she is a victim of racial profiling.

"Why didn't he call 911? That's what I want to know," her aunt tells the Detroit Free Press. "He could have called the police. She wasn’t in the backyard. She was at the front door knocking ... that man had the time to look out his window." The county prosecutor will seek more information from police before deciding on charges. Michigan has a self-defense law similar to Florida's Stand Your Ground law, Gawker notes. In North Carolina earlier this year, an unarmed man was shot dead by police after he crashed his car and sought help at a nearby home. (More Detroit stories.)