Man accused in fatal Charlotte protest shooting was aiming at police, prosecutors say
Prosecutors said Monday that Rayquan Borum was trying to kill a police officer in 2016 when he fired the bullet that fatally struck Justin Carr.
Assistant District Attorney Glenn Cole made the accusation Monday while addressing the pool of Borum’s prospective jurors.
It marked the first time that prosecutors have publicly alleged that Borum was aiming at police during the chaos that erupted in uptown on Sept. 21, 2016, following the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott the day before. Borum’s bullet struck Carr by mistake, Cole said.
During a break in the trial, defense attorney Darlene Harris said she had no comment in response to Cole’s accusation.
Up to now, prosecutors have been tight-lipped in revealing details of their case. Cole’s comments came while he was summarizing the prosecution’s case to the prospective jurors and why, he said, the district attorney’s office believes a first-degree murder charge is appropriate.
If convicted, Borum faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. His previous attorney, Terry Sherrill of Charlotte, had described Carr’s death in earlier court hearings as a “tragic accident” not deserving of the first-degree murder charge filed in the case.
A small group of activists, part of the group known as Charlotte Uprising, contends that police shot Carr and have framed Borum with Carr’s murder.
A video of Borum’s police interrogation following his arrest reveals that the 24-year-old Charlotte man confessed to the shooting. But Borum said it was an accident, occurring after he says he fired his gun in the air to disperse the crowd of demonstrators outside the Omni Hotel who were protesting Scott’s death.
Cole says Borum’s bullet was aimed at the line of police officers positioned outside the hotel. Instead, it struck Carr, 26, who was standing nearby among the hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Trade and College streets confronting police. Carr’s autopsy said he died from a gunshot wound to the head.
A surveillance video obtained by the Observer under a court order captures what prosecutors say was the moment of the shooting.
A small pin prick of light appears among the demonstrators shortly before 8:30 p.m. on the night of Sept. 21.
The gunshots set off a stampede of demonstrators down Trade Street while a small circle of people remains behind encircling Carr’s body.
A man prosecutors identify as Borum can be seen zig-zagging through the crowd before disappearing off camera onto College Street.
Superior Court Judge Greg Hayes says the trial could last as long as four weeks.
This story was originally published February 18, 2019 at 3:42 PM.
