A FATHER and son have been arrested for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man who was jogging down the street in Georgia, United States.
Gregory McMichael, a former police officer, and his son Travis McMichael shot and killed 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery as he jogged, unarmed, down a residential neighbourhood in the town of Brunswick on 23 February this year.
They were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault on 6 May, two months after his death, after a leaked video of the brutal killing prompted a national outcry.
25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead while jogging down a street in Brunswick, Georgia (Photo: Arbery family)The footage, taken by an unnamed driver, shows Mr Arbery jogging down the residential estate to where the McMichaels's were waiting in a pickup truck, one standing in the back of the truck, and both armed with guns.
Mr Arbery continues jogging, but as he runs past the truck a struggle ensues with Travis McMichael over a gun.
The man in the back of the truck, Gregory McMichael, aims a gun at the struggling men and three shots can be heard going off.
At the third shot, which was fired by Travis McMichael and which fatally injured Mr Arbery, blood appears under Mr Arbery's ribcage and he attempts to run but falls to the ground.
A police report states that Gregory McMichaels claims Mr Arbery began to "violently attack" his son, Travis, and that the pair had acted in self defence.
Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden tweeted on Wednesday night that "the video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood.
"My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now."
US President Donald Trump said that he has not seen the video but will be receiving a full report on the situation, and offered his condolences to the family, saying " my heart goes out to the parents and to the loved ones of the young gentleman".
The victim's father, Marcus Arbery, said that his son's death amounted to a modern-day lynching.
Gregory and Travis McMichaels have been charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery two months after he was killed (Photo: Georgia Bureau of Investigation)Mr Marcus Arbery told PBS Newshour: "All he did is work out and ran and just took care of his body, because he had dreams now," saying that racial profiling had killed his son.
The family had originally been told by police that their son had died while involved in a burglary, which Mr Marcus Arbery said was "a lie and a cover-up."
"The video is speaking everything for itself," he said. "Check that lynch mob out."
Investigations are ongoing.
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