Ahmaud Arbery’s Family Reacts To Newly Released Video Just Prior To Shooting
Following the outrage over the horrific shooting of Ahmaud Arbery on February (23), additional video footage has been released capturing his final moments.
Obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, from a source outside the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the video appears to be a surveillance camera from a Brunswick home near where Arbery was fatally shot.
On Saturday afternoon (May 9) the GBI confirmed in a statement that they were looking into the new video.
"There are reports circulating of additional video footage being reviewed by the GBI as a part of the Ahmaud Arbery murder investigation," GBI said. "We are indeed reviewing additional video footage and photographs as part of the active case. It is important to note that this footage was reviewed at the beginning of the GBI investigation and before the arrests of Gregory and Travis McMichael."
RELATED: BREAKING: Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers, Gregory And Travis McMichael, Arrested On Murder Charges
The footage shows a man, who appears to be 25-year-old Arbery, walking into a home that was under construction, then coming back out about six minutes later. The man then leaves the home and jogs down the street, nothing appears to be in his hands.
Arbery was later killed shortly after Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, drove after him with a rifle and .357 magnum.
Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery Sr. and his uncle Gary Arbery, responded to the newly released video at a rally on Saturday (May 9) in Ahmaud Arbery’s honor, celebrating what would have been the weekend of his 26th birthday.
“Whatever they are trying to do to justify what they did, they can’t do it,” Gary Arbery said.
“If he committed a crime, why don’t you call the authorities?” Marcus Arbery continued. “But you came at him like you were hunting an animal.”
The lawyers representing the Arbery family, Lee Merritt, Benjamin Crump, and Chris Stewart, said in a statement the video showed Arbery was not engaged in illegal activity.
Read the full statement below:
“Our office has reviewed the surveillance video which appears to show a person, believed to be Ahmaud Arbery, entering a property under construction. The individual remains on the property for under 3 minutes before continuing to jog down the road. This video is consistent with the evidence already known to us. Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog. He stopped by a property under construction were he engaged in no illegal activity and only remained for a brief period. Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site. He did not cause any damage to property. He remained for a brief period of time and was not instructed by anyone to leave, but rather left on his own accord to continue his job. Ahmaud’s actions at this empty home under construction were in no way a felony under Georgia law. This video confirms that Mr. Arbery’s murder was not justified and the actions of the men who pursued him and ambushed him were unjustified. We reiterate, Ahmaud Arbery did not take part in ANY felony, had no illegal substances in his system, was not armed yet was shot three times with a shotgun at close range.”
The McMichaels have been arrested on felony murder and aggravated assault charges. William “Roddie” Bryan, who filmed the incident has been added as a third suspect.
