Source: KEZI / iOne Digital
On September 19, a white man fatally shot a Black man in Oregon allegedly because the Black man complimented his girlfriend. He was initially arrested on one charge of second-degree manslaughter and released on bail before a Deschutes County grand jury indicted him on a total of six charges Thursday and he was held without bond.
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According to ABC 9 News, 27-year-old Ian Mackenzie Cranston is now charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon in the shooting death of 22-year-old Barry Washington Jr. in downtown Bend. Cranston, who is currently being held at Deschutes County Jail, did not enter a plea when he appeared in court Friday, but his attorney, Kevin Sali, appears to be claiming his client shot Washington in self-defense, not because he was upset a Black man was trying to move on his girlfriend.
“Indisputable video evidence shows that before Ian Cranston ever drew his weapon, Barry Washington had assaulted him without provocation, resulting in head injuries that required the police to take Mr. Cranston to the hospital where a brain scan and other procedures had to be performed,” Sali said in a statement.
Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel appears to agree there was a physical altercation before the shooting, but he disputes the notion that it happened “without provocation.”
