Courtesy of the Arbery family | Ahmaud Arbery
Two men have been arrested for the February shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, 25. They have been charged with murder and aggravated assault.
Travis McMichael, 34, and his father, Gregory McMichael, 64 were booked into the Glynn County Jail after being arrested on Thursday.
A video of the moment Arbery died caused national outrage after making rounds on social media. But many people couldn’t bring themselves to watch it, including Arbery’s mother.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be in a mental state where I can actually watch the video. I had others that watched it that shared what they saw and that just was enough,” said Wanda Cooper-Jones in an interview on “Good Morning America.”
The video is only 28 seconds long, and it shows Arbery jogging through a neighborhood. Abruptly, the footage ends with two loud gunshots.
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Travis and Gregory McMichael told police that they grabbed their guns and chased Arbery in their truck after they saw him running in their neighborhood. They claim they believed he was responsible for recent burglaries in the area.
The father claims his son was attacked by Arbery when he got out of the truck while holding a shotgun. After that, the two men reportedly tussled over the gun before Arbery was shot.
Arbery was pronounced dead at the scene. However, police say no weapons were found on him. Arbery lived one town over from the neighborhood where the McMichaels live, in Brunswick.
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In an interview with ABC News on Thursday, Cooper-Jones said she’s had a hard time dealing with the death of her son.
“I’m managing,” she said. “It’s really hard.” Above all, she really misses her son.
Ben Crump, an attorney representing the family, said, “It’s outrageous that it has taken more than two months for Ahmaud Arbery’s executioners to be arrested. But, better late than never. This is the first step to justice. This murderous father and son duo took the law into their own hands.”
Cooper-Jones said that she believes there is a reason they hadn’t been taken into custody sooner. For instance, Gregory McMichael worked as an investigator in the Brunswick district attorney’s office. After that, he recently retired.
“I think they don’t feel like he was wrong because he was one of them,” said Cooper-Jones.
In conclusion, it was a wrong that never should have happened. Especially at a time when most people should be trying to decide on the best mothers day gifts instead.
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