The indignation was intense after the video on the American web of the violent death of a 25-year-old black jogger in the American state of Georgia at the end of February. Two white men, suspected of killing him, have been arrested and charged with murder and assault, police said on Thursday.
In a 28-second video released on Tuesday by runner's family lawyer Ahmaud Arbery is seen running on February 23 along a highway in Brunswick, Georgia. As he goes around a white pick-up on which a man is standing, he is stopped by a second man who grabs him. We hear a shot, then a second.
The two men were identified as Travis McMichael, 34, and his father, Gregory McMichael, 64, residents of this coastal city in this historically segregated former South. According to the police report, Gregory McMichael claims to have thought that Ahmaud Arbery was a thief "strutting" outside his house. He says he grabbed his revolver, his son his gun, and both went after him. He says he saw his son "shoot" twice and Ahmaud Arbery collapsed to the ground.
"My thoughts are with the young man's parents and relatives. It is a very sad thing," said Donald Trump on Thursday, adding that he had not seen the video but would be informed in detail about the case In the evening.
General indignation in the country
After the video went viral, many stars and politicians expressed outrage and called for a quick charge of the two suspects.
"Ahmaud Arbery was murdered by two white men, IN FRONT OF A CAMERA, and the guys were not arrested," lambasted actress Zoë Kravitz in a message on Instagram relayed by many personalities like Billie Eilish or Kylie Jenner.
"The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood. I am wholeheartedly with his family, who deserves justice and deserves it now," Joe Biden, probable Democratic presidential candidate for November, claimed on Twitter. .
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. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder. https://t.co/alvY5WjdHx
- Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 6, 2020Some have drawn a parallel with the Trayvon Martin case, an unarmed black teenager who had been killed by a vigilante in Florida in 2012. "We are literally chased EVERY DAY / EVERY TIME we set foot outside our home us, "said basketball star LeBron James on Instagram.
With AFP
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