Joshua Brown, key witness against Dallas ex-cop Amber Guygen in Botham Jean murder trial, shot dead

Dallas police confirmed Sunday that Joshua Brown, a key witness in the murder trial of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, was shot dead Friday night in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Brown, 28, lived across the hall from Botham Jean and testified that Guyger had not asked Jean to show or raise his hands before she shot him dead in his apartment, mistaking it for her own. Guyger was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison last week. Brown and Jean were black; Guyger, 31, is white.

Brown was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the hospital. Witnesses saw a silver sedan speed out of the parking lot after the gunshots. Dallas police say they are still searching for suspects and a motive. S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for Jean's family who now represents Brown's family, said "we need answers."

Merritt told NBC Today that Brown feared "for his life" after testifying in the Guyger trial. He said he had no evidence to suggest Brown's death was retaliation for helping convict Guyger, but Brown was shot in the foot and a friend killed in a shooting at a birthday party in a Dallas club a few months ago, and Brown feared the shooter "might come back to try and finish the job."

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