An armed, all-white mob showed up at the home of a Black family asking about a missing teen girl. They had lots of questions for Dameon Shepard, a senior at Laney High School in Wilmington. The family told them they had the wrong home, but the mob was not trying to hear it.
An off-duty deputy named Jordan Kita, who worked in the New Hanover Sheriff’s Office, tried to force his way into the home. Footage from neighbor’s home surveillance and testimonies have confirmed the chaotic scene the family described. Now they want accountability.
It finally clicked for the mob that Dameon was not the boy they were actually looking for, and the girl was later found safe. But the entire situation has Monica Shepard questioning their real intentions. She’s retained an attorney and now they’re taking action.
The family filed a civil lawsuit. Officer Kita has been fired, facing “various misdemeanor criminal charges of forcible trespass, breaking and entering, and a willful failure to discharge his duties as an officer of the law,” according to Port City Daily. Still, he was not alone.
The Shepards want everyone involved held accountable. White groups trying to force their way into Black homes recalls the horrible history of lynch mobs. What if Dameon HAD been the young man they were looking for? It’s scary to think what they could have done.
We have the right to defend ourselves and protect our families, but it’s disturbing to know this is still happening.