On November 18, 1997, Mauritanian Oumar Dia was approached by white supremacist Nathan Thill at a bus stop and was shot dead.
[1][2] Thill's accomplice, Jeremiah Barnum, also shot and injured witness Jeannie VanVelkenburg, who was left paralyzed after she ran to aid Dia.
[4] According to testimony, Nathan Thill stated "[I] walked through town with my gun in my waist, saw the black guy and thought he didn't belong where he was at".
"[4] Thill and his accomplice Jeremiah Barnum then approached Dia, asked him if he was prepared to die and began to beat him while calling him racial slurs.
[2] Jeremiah Barnum faced a mandatory life sentence, albeit he later made a plea deal that resulted with him being imprisoned for only seven years; from 2002 to 2009.