The changing police narrative on the shooting death of Emantic Bradford

by



[ad_1]

First, they stated that a 21-year-old suspect shot and wounded two other people. Then they said that Emantic Bradford did not pull the trigger, but brandished a gun. Now, we learned that Bradford did not necessarily do that either.

All the while, the real assailant who opened fire at the mall is still on the run.

Hoover police reported a shootout Thursday night at the Riverchase Galleria Mall, an upscale mall located south of Birmingham.

Friday morning
Police say the suspect was killed

According to the police, two men fought at the mall and one of them fired twice on the upper body.

Hoover PD clarifies the report on

Two uniformed Hoover officers working at the mall security were nearby, police said.

"While they were heading to the scene of the shooting, one of the police met a suspect carrying a gun and shot him," police said in a statement.

They identified the suspect killed as a 21-year-old man from the nearby town of Hueytown.

The other gunman at the mall and a 12-year-old girl, injured by a stray bullet, both survived.

Friday night
Police say Bradford was probably not the gunman

Hoover police identified the man killed as being Emantic Bradford Jr. They claimed that Bradford had fled "wielding a handgun" and that an officer had shot him.

But Bradford is probably not the shooter who shot and wounded an 18-year-old man at the mall, the police said. They said the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is now in charge of the investigation.

"New evidence now suggests that although Mr. Bradford may have been involved in some aspects of the altercation, he probably did not shoot the cartridges that injured the 18-year-old victim," he said. said Hoover police on Facebook.

"Investigators now believe that more than two people participated in the first altercation.This information indicates that there is at least one armed man still free, who could be responsible for the shooting of the young man aged 18 years old" said the police.

"We regret that our initial press release was not entirely accurate, but new evidence indicates that this was not the case."

Monday morning
Police: "We can say with certainty that Mr. Bradford has brandished a firearm"

Four days after the shooting, Hoover police and the city of Hoover offered their condolences to Bradford's family – but insisted that Bradford brandish a firearm.

Bradford had a legal firearms license and was trying to help people, said his family

"We express our sympathy to the family of Emantic J. Bradford, of Hueytown, who was shot and killed during Hoover Police efforts to secure the scene in the seconds following the initial altercation and the outbreak. of the shooting, "said a joint statement from the police and the city.

"We can say with certainty that Mr. Bradford brandished a firearm in the seconds following the shots, immediately heightened the sense of threat to approaching officers responding to the chaotic scene. . "

Bradford's parents stated that their son had a license to carry a weapon.

Hoover police said the camera images of the officer corps are now in the hands of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. It is not clear whether or when ALEA will publish this sequence to the public.

Meanwhile, Bradford's parents told CNN that they were upset by the fact that the police still had not contacted them nearly four days after the murder of their son by an officer.

"They have not told me anything yet." Nobody replied, "said Bradford's father, Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Sr." We have not received any calls or excuses. "

Later Monday morning
Bradford did not necessarily carry a firearm

Hoover police gave another clarification, claiming that Bradford simply had a weapon in his hand:

"Earlier, we stated that Mr. Bradford had" brandished "a firearm, and to clarify, the word" brandish "was used because Mr. Bradford had a weapon in his hand as the police reacted to the situation. of active shooter between customers of the shopping center.

But "brandishing" – according to most definitions – means shaking or showing a weapon in an aggressive or threatening way.

Bradford was actually trying to help people get safe when he was shot, said his family's lawyer, Ben Crump.

Crump also said Bradford was allowed to carry a concealed weapon.

Monday evening
The shooter is still there

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said the state was still investigating the shooting, including the search for the still-fleeing suspect.

He also said the city was asking for a meeting with the Bradford family.

Mayor and police Hoover have called for patience while state authorities are trying to determine what happened. The police department forwarded CNN's questions to FTAA.

But Crump said the patience of the Bradford family was exhausted.

"Show us the video, your words mean nothing to them," Crump said Monday.

Crump said he believes that the officer who killed "EJ" – one of Bradford's nicknames – has rushed to judgment.

"(The officer) saw a black man with a gun and he decided that he had to be a criminal," Crump said.

CNN's Jamiel Lynch, Hollie Silverman and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.

[ad_2]

Source link