The father and son who murdered an unarmed jogger named Ahmaud Arbery back in February are now charged for the crime. In addition,an official from Georgia promised that they will focus on the case as the man who filmed the gruesome incident is now under police investigation.
Vic Reynolds, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director, said in a news conference on May 8, that every stone will be turned over, and if the facts lead agents to make another arrest, that is what the agents will do.
The man who recorded the horrifying shooting incident is said to live near the suspects, ex-cop Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael. The man was driving behind them during the incident that happened on February 23.
Graphic footage of Ahmaud Arbery killing
The gruesome murder of Ahmaud Arbery was captured on video, and it prompted a nationwide outrage after it surfaced online. The video shows the black victim running on a seemingly quiet road outside Brunswick when the two white men with guns start chasing him in a pickup truck.
The 34-year-old Travis McMichael jumps in front of Arbery with a rifle and a scuffle ensues before three gunshots were heard. The jogger died at a hospital later that day but there were no charges filed by any local law enforcement agency.
On May 5, Reynolds' agency took over the case, shortly after the video surfaced and the two white shooters were immediately arrested on murder charges. Reynolds told reporters that they are investigating everyone who is involved in the case, including the person who shot the video. Reynolds did not specify the crime that the neighbor may have committed to filming the incident.
The two suspects said in their defense that they were following Arbery because they thought he was doing a series of break-ins in the neighborhood.
A call was made to 911 that day, and it was thought to be Gregory McMichael, and he reported a black male running down the street. However, the caller never told dispatchers what kind of crime he thought Arbery had committed. Arbery's family said that he was known in the area and that their neighbors would acknowledge him when he jogs down the street.
Racially motivated murder
Critics and human rights groups say that killing is another example of racial profiling that resembles the case of Trayvon Martin. Reynolds noted that Georgia is one of the few states that do not have a hate crime law, so he's unable to pursue charges.
Reynolds also acknowledged that time is an obstacle in the case because the incident happened more than two months ago, but he did not criticize the police and the prosecutors for not charging the McMichaels sooner. He added that in a perfect world, they would have been involved if they were asked to back in February, but sometimes it is not a perfect world so they have to deal with the situation as it is placed in front of them.
As for the video, the prosecutors did not even acknowledge having it. Reynolds said that it was vital to the case but it is not the only piece of evidence that his team reviewed before they filed charges.
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