Pa. man killed after allegedly confronting man who hurled racial slurs at his friend

A Pennsylvania resident was shot and killed over the weekend after reportedly confronting a man who verbally attacked his friend with racial slurs.

The Washington Post reported on Monday that Chad Merril, 25, was fatally shot at a bar in York County, Pa., on Saturday morning.

James Saylor, who is being accused as the shooter, has been charged with criminal homicide and denied bail, per court records. 

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Police say the shooting may have occurred after Merrill confronted Saylor in the parking lot of the bar about racial epithets he was hurling towards Merrill’s friend, according to a report in the York Daily Record.

The Post reports that, according to a probable cause affidavit, Saylor entered Red Rose Restaurant and Lounge and began hurling racial slurs at Merrill’s friend, Jerrell Douglas. 

Merrill’s brother, Richard Merrill, told the Post that Chad was sitting next to Douglas while the events took place. Douglas did not respond to Saylor’s actions and Saylor was subsequently removed from the restaurant, according to the Post. 

Merrill, however, followed Saylor outside.

After being kicked out, Hellam Township Police Chief J. Douglas Pollock told the Daily Record that a surveillance video shows Saylor in the parking lot of the restaurant trying to break into a vehicle that wasn’t his. He then reportedly pulled a gun out and fired it towards the building.

Pollock told the Daily Record that Saylor then got into his own car, which was when Merrill reportedly emerged from the bar. When Merrill was about two feet away from Saylor’s car, Saylor allegedly shot Merrill in the chest.  

Saylor was later arrested after police tracked him down at his parents’ house. Merrill’s family has since launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his funeral expenses.

“Our family is still in a state of shock and are thankful to everyone that is reaching out,” the posting reads.