BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Months after the deadly shooting unfolded in the Satilla Shores neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia, video of the incident was leaked to the public. The video shows the moments 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was shot to death while he was out jogging in the middle of the day.
Shortly after Arbery’s death, a Glynn County police officer interviewed Gregory McMichael, who is listed as a "witness" in the report.
According to the police report, McMichael alleges Arbery was a "suspect" in a home break-in and needed to be stopped so he and his son Travis McMichael grabbed their firearms pursued Arbery in their truck.
In the report, McMichael says he and his son attempt to cut Arbery off at an intersection in the neighborhood where he is running, but they were "unsuccessful," so they try to "intercept him" on another street. Eventually, they yell at him to stop, yelling that they “wanted to talk” to him.
In this video that was leaked Tuesday, Arbery can be seen jogging up a road with the McMichaels stopped ahead apparently waiting for him, each of them armed.
In the report, McMichael says his son Travis hopped out of the truck with his shotgun when Arbery wouldn’t stop as they asked. Then McMichael alleges that Arbery “violently” attacked Travis. However, in the video Arbery is seen swerving out of their way to avoid them, as he runs in a yard around their truck, but Travis follows him to the front of the truck with his shotgun and a fight over the gun ensues.
Three consecutive shots can be heard firing from the shotgun and seconds later Arbery falls to the grounds.
After Arbery falls from the gunshot wounds, McMichael tells police he then walked over to see if Arbery was armed.
Lee Merritt, the attorney representing the Arbery family, says there is no excuse these men can find to justify their what they did to Arbery, who was just out for a jog.
"Mr. Arbery is only observed running down the road. And even if there's something that we didn't see off camera, these men gave statements to law enforcement," said Merritt. " And they said the worst that he was ever accused of was looking into a home that was under construction. That is by no stretch of the imagination a burglary or any crime whatsoever. And so without a crime, there's no purpose for citizens arrest."
Family members tell First Coast News that Arbery would have turned 26 years old this weekend. They are celebrating with a balloon release at 1 p.m. at Sidney Linier Park on Saturday. The public is invited to join in the celebration.
Meanwhile, family and friends say they will not stop fighting for justice. More than 100 people joined them in a protest for justice Tuesday evening.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said on Tuesday that he expected justice to be carried out "as swiftly as possible".
"Based on the video footage and news reports I have seen, I am deeply concerned with the events surrounding the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery," said Carr.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp called for an independent investigation by the Georgia Department of Investigation, saying "Georgians deserve answers".
Later Tuesday night, District Attorney Tom Durden formally requested the GBI to investigate the death of Arbery.