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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a North Carolina man accused of fatally shooting a young black man leaving a neighbor's house party.
Local media outlets report that Chad Copley was indicted Monday on murder charges in the Aug. 7 death of 20-year-old Kouren-Rodney Thomas.
According to authorities and 911 tapes, 39-year-old Copley fired a shotgun from inside his garage after calling police to complain of "hoodlums" in his neighborhood. Thomas' mother says he was struck while walking with a friend to their car.
Copley, who is white, told a dispatcher he "fired a warning shot" to people "showing a firearm." But the party's host says he didn't see anyone with a gun.
Thomas' family says they hope the indictment sends the message that "this kind of malicious behavior cannot, and will not, be tolerated."
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