Man accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery allegedly used racial slur after shooting


A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified on Thursday that the man who shot Ahmaud Arbery was heard using a racial slur while standing over Arbery's body.
Arbery, a 25-year-old unarmed black man, died in February after being shot while jogging through a Brunswick, Georgia, neighborhood. Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan have all been charged with Arbery's murder. The hearing held on Thursday was to determine whether there is enough evidence to hold a murder trial.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Richard Dial testified that Travis and Gregory McMichael were in one truck and Bryan was in another when they chased Arbery and boxed him in. Travis McMichael got out of the truck to confront Arbery, and he later told police that when Arbery refused to get down on the ground, he shot him in self-defense. Video recorded by Bryan shows Arbery was shot twice in the chest and once in the hand.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
The McMichaels were arrested on May 7, and a week later, Dial said, Bryan told investigators that before police arrived at the scene of the shooting, Travis McMichael stood over Arbery's body and called him a "f---ing n---er." Bryan was arrested on May 21.
Gregory McMichael, who has claimed they thought Arbery was a burglary suspect, told police "he didn't know if Mr. Arbery had stolen anything or not, but he had a gut feeling," Dial testified. He also said investigators found at least two more racial slurs in messages on Travis McMichaels' phone, and police body camera footage showed a Confederate flag sticker on his truck's toolbox. At the end of the hearing, Magistrate Court Judge Wallace Harrell found there is enough evidence for cases to proceed against all three defendants.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
See the bright lights from these 7 big-city hotels
The Week Recommends Immerse yourself in culture, history and nightlife
-
Scientists want to regrow human limbs. Salamanders could lead the way.
Under the radar Humans may already have the genetic mechanism necessary
-
Seven wild discoveries about animals in 2025
In depth Mice have Good Samaritan tendencies and gulls work in gangs
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attack
Speed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival