Cops in Detroit, Michigan, released surveillance footage this week showing a white ex-firefighter blasting away at a black teen with a shotgun after he reportedly knocked on his door and asked for directions.
The alleged hate crime was captured on Jeffrey Zeigler’s home security system on April 12, according to the Oakland Press.
Authorities have charged the 53-year-old with attempted murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office played the shooting video in court on Tuesday during the second day of his trial.
Brennan Walker, 14, was walking alone to school that day after missing the bus when he came upon Zeigler’s home, according to investigators.
The high school freshman was lost and knocking on the doors of houses, asking for directions, cops said.
“I was trying to explain … that I wanted to get directions to go to my school,” Walker told WDIV after the incident.
Zeigler, however, claimed he was just defending himself — and told police that Walker was attempting to break in. He also claimed that his shotgun accidentally went off after he tripped outside. But the surveillance footage proved otherwise.
“When I saw that video…I was shocked,” detective Shawn Pace explained in court Tuesday.
“I knew which direction I had to go,” he said, according to The Oakland Press.
“I was offended by what I had seen.”
Pace said that Zeigler’s behavior during his interrogation didn’t sit well with him, either.
“He took a big drink of water, looked at me and said, ‘I’m tired of being a victim,’” Pace testified. “That was it.”
Walker’s mother, along with countless social media users and the NAACP, have voiced their outrage over the incident.
“It definitely was a hate crime,” Walker’s mother told WDIV back in April.
Zeigler’s trial is scheduled to resume on Friday.



