WASHINGTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A white father and son in the U.S. state of Georgia was charged with murder and aggravated assault Thursday, as video footage showing the moment 25-year-old black man Ahmaud Arbery was killed while jogging two months ago triggered outrage nationwide over racial inequity.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a news release Thursday that Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested for the death of Arbery, adding that the McMichaels approached Arbery on Feb. 23 with two firearms, before the younger McMichael shot and killed Arbery.
A video circulated on social media this week showed two men approach a young black man jogging on the street. Gunshots can be heard after a brief interaction, and the black man fell to the ground afterwards.
The GBI said in the release that the footage is "related to Arbery's death," and that it is investigating the video under the request from the Glynn County Police Department.
According to a police report cited by U.S. media, Gregory McMichael, a retired police detective, saw Arbery jogging and thought he was a suspect in break-ins in the neighborhood. He then called his son and they armed themselves with a handgun and a shotgun, respectively, and chased Arbery in a truck.
McMichael told the Washington Post by phone on Thursday that "there are many, many facts out there that have not come to light," and that "this is all based on the video and newspaper story. All the stuff that led up to that still hasn't been released," without further elaborating on the case under active investigation, the newspaper reported.
The video, however, triggered nationwide outrage over racial inequity, with former Vice President Joe Biden comparing the case to a lynching and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp calling the incident "absolutely horrific."
Biden, also the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, told participants at a virtual campaign roundtable focused on African American issues Thursday that watching Arbery "shot down in cold blood" was like seeing him "lynched before our very eyes," adding that the fatal shooting is the latest exemplified the "rising pandemic of hate" in the country.
Commenting on the matter from the Oval Office on Thursday, President Donald Trump said he expects a "full report" on the incident, calling Arbery's death "a very sad thing."
The grand juries in Georgia are temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, and a statewide moratorium on judicial proceedings has been extended until June 12. That means that Arbery's case won't be heard until after at least one month. Enditem
