*Emantic Bradford Jr., a 21-year-old US Army combat engineer and son of a cop, was shopping in a mall in Hoover, Alabama when a shooting erupted. When police arrived they mistook him for the gunman and fatally shot him.
Bradford was running away from the scene of the shooting while holding his legally permitted firearm. There are conflicting reports about whether he was involved in the altercation that led to the shooting of a 12-year-old girl and 18-year-old male Thanksgiving night. He was not the gunman who fired the rounds that wounded the victims, AL.com reported.
Police admit they got it wrong when they shot and killed Bradford and identified him as the mall gunman, and the statement police released early Monday suggested he shouldn’t have pulled out his gun.
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“We can say with certainty Mr. Bradford brandished a gun during the seconds following the gunshots, which instantly heightened the sense of threat to approaching police officers responding to the chaotic scene,” the statement from the city of Hoover and its police department says.
“We extend 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 original altercation and shooting. The loss of human life is a tragedy under any circumstances,” the statement said.
Bradford’s parents appeared on CNN Monday morning — saying police still haven’t spoken with them and they’ve hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
“We don’t trust the police department because they’ve already lied to them. They released his picture all over the world saying he was the shooter and the police officer was a hero,” Crump said.
Crump said several witnesses have reached out to the family saying the officer shot Bradford “within milliseconds,” without saying a word to him.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a good guy with a gun, if you’re black the police shoot and kill you and ask questions later,” Crump said.
The police statement says “body camera video and other available video was immediately turned over to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department as part of the investigation. Now, all evidence has been handed over to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) to lead the investigation. Release of any video will be done as ALEA deems appropriate during the investigation.”
The police also said they are “pursuing the initial shooter” who injured the 18-year-old man and the 12-year-old girl at the Riverchase Galleria. The gunman remains at large.
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