A father and son have been arrested and charged with murder in the US state of Georgia over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was shot dead while he was out for a run in February.
The charges came days after a mobile phone video that captured the 25-year-old’s killing just outside the port city of Brunswick, went viral, triggering a nationwide outcry.
Those close to Arbery celebrated the news, but also expressed frustration at the long wait.
“This should have occurred the day it happened,” said Akeem Baker, one of Arbery’s close friends in Brunswick. “There’s no way without the video this would have occurred. I’m just glad the light’s shining very bright on this situation.”
Gregory McMichael, 64, a former law enforcement officer and his 34-year-old son Travis were arrested on Thursday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
McMichael previously told police that he and his son chased after Arbery because they suspected him of being a burglar. Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she believes her son, a former football player, was simply out jogging on a Sunday afternoon when he was followed and killed.
Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the slain man’s father, Marcus Arbery, said it was “outrageous” that it took so long for arrests to be made.
“This is the first step to justice,” Crump said in a statement. “This murderous father and son duo took the law into their own hands. It’s a travesty of justice that they enjoyed their freedom for 74 days after taking the life of a young Black man who was simply jogging.”
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