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Alabama's police retracted his remarks regarding Emantic Bradford Jr., who was originally described as an active shooter after an officer killed him in a shopping mall in the suburbs of Birmingham. , Thanksgiving night.
In a statement with regret the next day, police said that the real gunman apparently had escaped from the Riverchase Galleria – while claiming Bradford, 21, "was fleeing the shooting scene by wielding a gun from fist "when an officer shot him down a hallway outside JCPenney. the shop.
In a third statement on Monday, police questioned whether Bradford even pulled out his gun when police met him.
"We can say with certainty that Mr. Bradford waved a gun in the seconds following the shots," the statement said, "which immediately increased the sense of threat to approaching officers reacting to the scene. chaotic".
The changing explanations of the Hoover Police Department are likely to reinforce suspicions that the 21-year-old former army recruit was considered a threat because he is black.
"While these young black men are walking around the mall, whether they're carrying an arm or not, give them a chance to say what they're doing," Bradford's great aunt said. course of an event organized last weekend. mall.
[Police chief ‘saddened’ after officer killed armed guard — ‘a brave man who was doing his best’]
We still do not know what triggered the violence near the Galleria shortly before 22 hours. Thursday, as buyers started early for sales after Thanksgiving.
Police said a dispute over the upper lobby had escalated into a fight, then a gust of gunfire hit an 18-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl, both of whom survived.
Crowds immediately fled in front of the shots, sneaking into the food court, jumping over the counters and hiding inside the stores.
If Bradford actually took out his gun in the aftermath of the shooting, as the police say, he was one of the many people to do it, according to AL.com. It is unclear whether the weapons were used in a labor dispute, as suggested by the police, or in self-defense. Bradford's parents said he had a hidden gun license and was perhaps trying to help people.
The Hoover Police Department did not immediately answer the question of whether Bradford was operating his weapon or had simply disposed of his weapon, or whether the gun was still in sight when two uniformed police officers, security, approached him and one of them opened fire.
He died on the floor between a GameStop and a Footaction, the blood accumulated around his head.
With time, other police gathered around the body and several spectators took pictures.
"This boy shot no one," said a man in the hallway during his shoot.
"The shooter broke down at that time," an emergency dispatch on the radio announced.
After the police gave up their claim that Bradford shot someone, his parents hired human rights lawyer Ben Crump, who previously represented the families of black victims. such as Stephon Clark and Trayvon Martin. The lawyer asked the police to make public the pictures taken by the police at a press conference Sunday. He stated that Bradford had been shot in the face, and then interrupted his speech while a woman behind him had collapsed.
According to a Washington Post database, Bradford is one of the 850 people killed by police in the United States this year, and the last among many blacks whose deaths led to accusations of systemic racism under of the American law.
[Fatal force: 857 people have been shot and killed by U.S. police in 2018]
He grew up near Birmingham and joined the army last year, although he left before completing his advanced training. At a demonstration outside the mall on Saturday, parents said Bradford had recently returned home to take care of his father.
The Alabama Law Enforcement agency resumed the investigation and searched the shooter. Body camera images and other evidence were given to him in the mall, the police said on Monday.
Police Offer Condolences to Bradford's Family in their last statement – and other people affected by "such a useless event on what should have been a peaceful Thanksgiving night".
"The loss of life is a tragedy in all circumstances," the statement said.
Read more:
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