Father-son duo charged with murder of unarmed black man Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia

Two men have been allegedly arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault for the February shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The accused Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested on Thursday and will be booked into the Glynn County Jail, GBI informed.

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Arbery, 25, was jogging in a neighborhood outside Brunswick on February 23 when Gregory McMichael, a former police officer, and his son chased him down, authorities said. According to a Glynn County Police report, Gregory McMichael, 64, later told officers that he thought Arbery looked like a person suspected in a series of recent break-ins in the area.

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After they chased down Arbery, McMichael told police, Arbery and Travis McMichael, 34, struggled over his son's shotgun. The father McMichael told police that his son shot Arbery after the latter attacked him, according to the police report. Gregory McMichael said two shots were fired before Arbery fell on the street, the report said. In a video leaked of the incident which was allegedly taken by a bystander, three shots can be heard before Arbery is seen stumbling and falling to the ground.

Soon after the video circulated on social media on Tuesday, a large crowd of protesters marched through the neighborhood where Arbery was killed. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations announced Wednesday that it was opening its own probe into the February 23 incident.

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Georgia District Attorney Thomas Durden on May 5 said that he intends to bring the case of the shooting of an unarmed black man in front of a grand jury for consideration of criminal charges against men who allegedly committed the crime. Durden, however, did not mention what charges he would seek against those possibly responsible for the killing of the coloured man. 

It was not clear when the grand jury could be convened to hear the evidence as Georgia courts are currently prohibited from empaneling any grand or trial jury due to coronavirus lockdown. According to reports, courts in Georgia will remain close for any trial jury until at least June 12. 

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