Video Courtesy: CNN
(CNN) — Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is calling the shooting death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery “heartbreaking” and a modern-day “lynching.”
Two men are accused of chasing down and shooting Arbery, who was unarmed, in a coastal Georgia neighborhood in February.
Bottoms said Sunday that video of the incident led directly to the arrests.
“I think that’s absolutely the reason that they were charged, I think had we not seen that video, I don’t believe that they would be charged. And it’s heartbreaking that it’s 2020 and this was a lynching of an African-American man,” Mayor Bottoms said. “I think that… my heart goes out to his family. But I think, again it’s part of this bigger issue that we are having in this country.”
A father and son, 64-year-old Gregory McMichael and 34-year-old Travis McMichael were arrested Thursday and face charges of murder and aggravated assault.
The arrests came hours after officials asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to start investigating. The inquiry was previously in the hands of local officials.
The father and son said they thought Arbery matched the appearance of a burglary suspect who they said had been recorded on a surveillance camera some time before.
Officials in Georgia say they are now investigating an online threat against people protesting the killing of Arbery.
The GBI said Sunday that it “has been made aware of a Facebook post that contains a threat to future protests related to Ahmaud Arbery. We are actively investigating this situation and will provide pertinent updates as necessary.”
Several hundred people protested the case Friday in Brunswick, near the site where Arbery was fatally shot on Feb. 23. National outrage over the case swelled last week after video surfaced that appeared to show the shooting.
Arbery would have turned 26-years-old on Friday, May 8.
