RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The mother of a young Black man who authorities say was killed by a White man firing a shotgun from his garage says her son was known as “Safety 101” because he always urged people to buckle their seat belts.
Chad Cameron Copley, 39, is led out of a courtroom at the Wake County Judicial Center in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. Copley, who apparently called police to complain about “hoodlums” near his house, was charged with murder after he shot and killed a black man outside, authorities said. (Chuck Liddy/The News & Observer via AP)
Simone Butler-Thomas spoke by phone Tuesday with The Associated Press about the killing of her 20-year-old son, Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas.
Police have charged Chad Cameron Copley with murder. They released 911 calls from Copley’s house in which a man says he fired at a group of armed Black “hoodlums” outside.
Butler-Thomas says her son was leaving a house party down the street when he was fired on. She said her son was only weeks away from moving into his first apartment after working a series of restaurant jobs.