Georgia Woman Shoots Unarmed African-American Teen After Commenting On ‘Bad Blacks’ In Neighborhood
A woman in Georgia who once made public remarks about the “bad blacks” who had taken over her neighborhood nearly succeeded in snuffing the life of an innocent teenage boy.
Macon resident Elisabeth Cannon, 47, was recently charged with two counts of aggravated assault for the purported shooting of 15-year-old Vernon Marcus Jr. on Monday, January 16, so says the New York Daily News. According to reports, after reaching out to police earlier that day about a group of teens that Vernon reportedly associated with, Cannon opened fire outside of her home and struck a passing Marcus in the head, critically injuring him.
As of Thursday evening, the teen was said to have been in critical, yet stable condition at nearby Medical Center Navicent Health. Cannon, meanwhile, was released on $12,400 bond one day after the shooting and has since publicly shared her side of the story with CBS affiliate, WMAZ-TV.
Ms. Cannon relayed to reporters that the matter actually began several months prior when Vernon and his friends first started hurling pebbles and rocks at the Bloomfield Drive brownstone that she, her husband, and her 16-year-old daughter reside in.
“They’d get the biggest rocks,” she explained, “[and cause] multiple dings in the car, dents in the truck and [to] the [house’s] awning.”
Despite, by her words, approaching the teens several times to warn them about involving law enforcement, Cannon claims that her threats were met with more threats from Marcus and his friends.
“Things got worse [when I told them],” Cannon says.
“[They] would see us in the yard, glare at us and say, ‘I know you’re the ones who called police on us.”
Just recently, a Bibb County sheriff was dispatched to Elisabeth Cannon’s home to answer her repeated reports regarding Marcus and the other teens. The officer was also said to have made contact with the alleged rock hurlers and told them that they were not permitted to be anywhere near the family’s premises. Nonetheless, Cannon relayed that they came back again Monday night; this time, as she visited a neighbor in a nearby home, which left her daughter alone to defend herself.
“We felt terrorized,” she expressed, adding that she immediately made her way back to her brownstone once her daughter notified her of the group’s return. “I got so fearful, I worried myself sick.”
Once she arrived home, Cannon made her way inside and pulled out the gun that she used for protection.
“I saw them out of the corner of my eye,” she remembered.
“The barrage of big rocks started, not just at my car and house, but [at] me. I started shooting in their direction. They started running.”
“Maybe it wasn’t the best decision to make,” she continued, “but I thought eventually they might hurt us.”
HAPPENING NOW: Elisabeth Cannon makes appearance in court after shooting a 15-year-old Monday night. pic.twitter.com/oxlTV0cN8q
— Edna Ruiz (@ednaruiztv) January 17, 2017
Incidentally, her logic in this circumstance seems to differ from the mindset of the Elisabeth Cannon that blamed the downturn of safety in her neighborhood on African-American residents to the Macon Telegraph in 2013.
“I have some really good black neighbors, but the good blacks won’t get onto the bad blacks,” she surmised to the publication.
“You try not to profile, but at the same time, 99.9 percent of the crime is going to [come from], most often, a black male. You can tell if they’re just out walking for exercise or going to the store or whether they’re up to something, [however].”
If found guilty of both aggravated assault charges, Elisabeth Cannon could be ordered to 40 years in prison and a $200,000 fine, so says the Criminal Defense website of Georgia. Vernon Marcus Jr.’s family could not be reached for comment at this time.
[Featured Image by Bibb County Sheriff’s Office]
