Ahmaud Arbery’s father cries for justice on the murder of his son: ‘They lynched him’

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed after he encountered father-and-son McMichael last February.
• Ten weeks after, charges were filed against the McMichaels after two district attorneys recuse due to association with them.
• People celebrated Arbery’s birthday by doing what he loved most, running.

Marcus Arbery Sr says his child is athletic and fit like him, and this echoes the sentiments of almost everyone who had a word about his youngest son, Ahmaud Arbery.

Neighbors said Arbery loves running, and they saw him jog daily. Ahmaud’s typical trail is along the flat, curved pathway outside their home, then into Satilla Shores on the Georgia coast’s unincorporated community just within Brunswick’s outer limits.

The neighbors also said Ahmaud greet the people in the community during his run, and this was confirmed by his father, as told with the Guardian.

And on one sunny afternoon in February, the 25-year-old left to have his last jog for the last time as he would encounter the father and son tandem, Gregory McMichael, 64 and Travis, 34.

Ahmaud suffered at least two gunshot wounds, and he already passed away when the police officers arrived at the scene.

Marcus Sr, along with siblings of Ahmaud and mom, has searched for answers over two months. However, no one was indicted with Ahmaud’s killing yet after the case passed through three different district attorneys, with the first two inhibiting because of their association with Gregory McMichael.

“We can’t have two different justice systems in America: one for black America and one for white America,” Ben Crump, the lawyer representing Marcus Sr, told the Guardian.

The McMichaels’ statement to the police said that Ahmaud matched the features of someone committing theft the neighborhood based on CCTV tape.

Leaked footage that surfaced this week disputes the elder McMichael’s accusation that Ahmaud has aggressively attacked his son.

Marcus Sr refutes McMichael’s account, stressing that his son is a lovable young person. If Ahmaud would have never been killed, he will be 26 this Friday.

Arbery’s family has been planning to celebrate his birthday over the weekend, and about thousands of residents in Glynn county, along with other supporters in the U.S, also gave tribute by running. Runners started at Ahmaud’s house, then took the 2.23 route he used to make.

Following the release of Ahmaud’s video about his death, and more than ten weeks waiting for the failure of the local law enforcement to probe, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation responded by making arrests and took over the investigation.

The father and son pair, on Thursday, was charged with aggravated assault and murder.

The McMichaels are white, and Marcus Sr called the killing of his son a racist act, saying that he also experienced discrimination in the community where he grew up, noting that everyone should be treated equally.

Marcus Sr still hopes that what happened to his son serves as an eye-opener in Glynn county, noting that he still believes that justice will be served.

Source: The Guardian