A white man who has been accused of racially harassing his Black neighbors in Forth Worth, Texas, for the past year is now facing murder charges.

According to the Forth Worth Star-Telegram, 54-year-old Edward James Murray allegedly went to the home of the family he has been harassing and shot Antonio Robinson on Sunday evening when he answered the door.

While the 39-year-old fought for his life, his girlfriend, Ashley Lacy, called 911. Lacy's 9-year-old son also tried to stop the bleeding, but the injured man was pronounced dead less than an hour later at the hospital, an arrest warrant stated.

Edward Murray TERRORIZED Antonio Robinson's family with constant racist slurs for over a year! Then Murray FATALLY SHOT Antonio 5x in his chest… in an unprovoked attack in front of his 9yo son who was forced to try to stop his father's bleeding!
THIS was racial terrorism!! pic.twitter.com/xWhcm4tEX9

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) October 5, 2020

Murray, who was arrested on Monday after he fled the scene, is facing charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The suspected killer, who is also a registered sex offender, faces a series of additional accusations, including pointing a gun at at Robinson’s girlfriend. He is also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

Robinson's family described their loved one as a peaceful person.

“He was the type of person who kept the peace," his sister-in-law, Monique Robinson, told The Star Telegram. "He went to work to support his family.”

The family said Murray had been yelling racial slurs at them for the past year.

“When our door was open, you could hear him yelling at us,” Lacy said. “It got to the point that we just kept the door closed.”

Lacy and Robinson were living in the Forth Worth home with three children, ages 9, 3 and 2. The alleged murderer moved into the neighborhood last year and started causing problems, the family said.

“We had issues with him from day one,” Lacy said. “It was always these little things such as yelling at us. He wouldn’t step in our house, but if our door was open, he would scream at us.”

The family said Robinson once helped Murray while he was getting beaten up in the neighborhood.

“He got them to stop beating on him,” Lacy said. “And now Eddie turns around and does this. Antonio had done nothing to him.”

According to the warrant, obtained by The Star-Telegram, Murray walked by the family's home on Sunday evening and made another hateful comment, saying “got this (expletive) in front of my door, stupid Black (expletives).”

A few minutes later, the man returned to the family's home and banged on their door until Robinson and Lacy came outside, the warrant stated. Police said Murray then fired a silver revolver at the 39-year-old while Lacy ran back inside the home.

Murray got into a truck with his boyfriend and took off while Lacy begged the boyfriend to call police, the warrant stated. The terrified girlfriend talked to the dispatcher while her 9-year-old son tried to stop the bleeding, according to the document.

“A 9-year-old shouldn’t have to be doing that,” Lacy said.

Murray, who was previously convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl, was being held on a $160,000 bond after facing murder charges.

“If the tables were turned and a Black man with the same record had committed this crime against a white man and fled the scene, he would undoubtedly be completely denied bail,” Monique said. “This is a travesty of justice.”

The family is pushing for the charges to be upgraded to a hate crime or capital murder, NBCDFW reported.

"This is an incident where an innocent person in his own home minding his own business was the victim of a premeditated attack,” Robinson’s sister, Debbie, told the news station. “This man came to the house with a loaded weapon, said one word, and started shooting. That is premeditated."

Lacy and the children have now moved out of their Forth Worth home, fearing that that the alleged murderer will return if he gets out on bail.

"He was a very big teddy bear,” the devastated girlfriend said about her loved one. “He's very kind-hearted."

She adds that it's especially difficult for the children.

"My children are going to be so traumatized because they went to sleep and took a nap and they woke up to no daddy,” Lacy said.

Edward James Murray

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