Survivors Claim Shooter Is Racist, Too

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - An alleged drug dealer, a white man, is accused of shooting to death two black men as they fled from his home.

Survivors of Christian Foster and Rashad Williams claim the young man had almost made it across the street when the "racist" Shannon Edmonds, an alleged dealer of crystal meth and marijuana, shot them both in the back. The federal lawsuit does not state what the two men were doing at the house, but claims that Foster and Williams "did not pose a reasonable, substantial or imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to any person during the initial confrontation, after they fled and before they were shot." The suit claims that Edmonds used boys as young as 14 as drug runners, and was well known to local authorities. It claims that he and co-defendant Lori Tyler had been targets in several earlier failed attempts to steal drugs. Plaintiffs claim the defendants did not take steps to deter further robbery attempts and that unindicted municipal agencies and employees, including Lake County Sheriff's Department and City of Clearlake's Police Department, failed to force Edmonds and Tyler to stop selling drugs. Plaintiffs claim the agencies "provided protection to Edmonds and Tyler," and as such, "participated in the racially motivated altercation and shootings of Christian and Rashad." Plaintiffs demand punitive damages and an order protecting them from harassment. See complaint.

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