*In Charleston, West Virginia, a 62-year-old white man fatally shot a black 15-year old following a verbal confrontation at a grocery store Monday night. After being arraigned on a first-degree murder charge and jailed Tuesday, William Pulliam, confessed to the murder of James Means, which is now being investigated as a hate crime.
“The way I look at it, that’s another piece of trash off the street,” Pulliam said about the murder, according to a criminal complaint filed by Charleston Detective C.C. Lioi.
“I’m sorry, but I’m 62 years old. I’m not going to take a bunch of punks beating me up,” he said in a jailhouse interview. “I just shot him, I felt my life was in danger.”
But James was not armed according to police, which conflicts with Pulliam’s confession in which he insisted the teen drew a gun.
“The victim wasn’t armed–there was no physical altercation–there was an argument. Words were exchanged. Mr. Pulliam drew a .380 revolver and shot the victim twice and killed him,” said Charleston Police Department Chief of Detectives Lt. Steve Cooper. “In this case we’re confident a murder charge is appropriate.”
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that a Pulliam had been barred from legal gun ownership due to a prior domestic violence conviction.
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