Georgia prosecutor, state investigators to explore charges in shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery

Ahmaud Arbery killing
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTub/CBS News)

A Georgia prosecutor, Tom Durden, announced Tuesday that he will seek to impanel a grand jury to consider criminal charges in the Feb. 23 killing of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old black jogger who was shot after being confronted by two white men on a suburban street in Glynn County. On Tuesday morning, a graphic video of Arbery's final encounter was posted online, prompting Gov. Brian Kemp (R) to pledge the help of state law enforcement "to ensure justice is served." Durden accepted the help of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The two men who stopped Arbery, Greg McMichael, 64, and his 34-year-old son, Travis McMichael, told police they had suspected he was responsible for a series of break-ins, armed themselves, and followed him in their truck. The video shows Arbery jogging down a residential street in the Satilla Shores neighborhood just outside Brunswick, trying to run around the truck blocking his path, then apparently wresting over a shotgun held by Travis McMichael. Three shots were fired and Arbery tried to run away, collapsing a few feet later, never to recover.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.