Attorneys, Dr. William Barber Call For Arrest Of NC Man Still Free After Shooting Black Neighbor

ROCKINGHAM, NC – A man’s family claims that he knocked on the door of his neighbor to share the word of God, but was met with a barrage of bullets. However, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) has a different account of the incident. The suspected shooter has not been charged.

This case bears disturbing resemblances to recent shootings in Kansas City, MO, and Ocala, FL, where older, white homeowners shot innocent Black victims through the door.  The family and attorneys for 23-year-old Jadyn McNeill want to know why authorities with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) still haven’t arrested 72-year-old William Griffin almost two weeks after he shot McNeill five times through his door. Now, the family has hired renowned national civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and Carnell Johnson to help fight for justice for the young Black man as he continues to fight for his life in a North Carolina hospital.

According to the family, Griffin and the McNeills have lived directly across the street from each other for roughly eight years when Jadyn knocked on his neighbor’s front door the morning of Thursday, August 22, to talk and spread his Christian faith. Instead of engaging in conversation, however, Griffin fired seven shots through his door, hitting Jadyn five times.

Jadyn’s father, Charles McNeill, arrived on the scene at the same time as an RCSO deputy and saw his son standing on the front lawn, bleeding from his wounds, while Griffin was waving two handguns. According to the father, the deputy never ordered the armed and agitated Griffin to put down his weapons, pulled his own firearm, or even placed Griffin in custody. It wasn’t long, however, before the RCSO distributed a release to local media that cast McNeill as a would-be burglar instead of an innocent shooting victim. McNeil has no criminal history.

“He was shot at seven times, but he was only hit five,” McNeill said. “This is the guy across the street from me. He [my son] is conscious. He is a resilient young man.” 

Jadyn was struck in the chest, stomach, arm, and hand. “My son was still standing whenever I got across the street to him, with his hands up to this guy.” Jadyn is stable but remains in the ICU.

​The case has caught the attention of national religious and civil rights leader Bishop William Barber II who has issued a statement saying, “The preliminary facts of this case are distrusting. A young man goes to share his faith and is shot five times through the door, and there’s no in-depth investigation and no arrest. That means there’s no justice. We join this young man, his family, and national civil rights attorney Harry Daniels in demanding action. There must be a full investigation and a proper arrest. “

​“The simple fact is that the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office arrived at a scene where a white man, who was still armed, had gunned down a young Black man through his door and did nothing,” Daniels said. “Now they want us to believe that the victim, who has no criminal history, all of a sudden decided to break into his neighbor’s house, in broad daylight, while the neighbor was home without wearing any shoes.”

“That’s not just absurd. It’s insulting. Jadyn McNeill is fighting for his life in intensive care while his shooter remains free. He deserves better than this.”

​“Imagine arriving at a crime scene where one man is waving a gun and another is bleeding out in the front yard,” said Johnson. “I’ll guarantee you that if the races were reversed, Griffin would be in jail right now.”

But the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is contradicting the family’s version of events. They posted on Facebook that the homeowner believed Jadyn, who has no criminal history, was trying to break in — even after the first few shots.

“Our information indicates that he knocks on the door,” said one of the family’s attorneys, Carnell Johnson. “According to the family, there was no kicking or trying to break down the door.”

The sheriff says their investigation will be turned over to the district attorney for a determination on charges. The State Bureau of Investigation has also been contacted and is assisting investigators, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday (Sept. 3).

Compiled from articles that first published in WSOC Charlotte and Holy City Sinner.