Alabama Mall Shooting: 21-Year-Old African-American Man Killed (Wrongfully)

On Thanksgiving night, during the holiday shopping portion of the holiday, Mr. Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., a 21-year-old black man, was shot to death by an Alabama police officer.  During this night, a gunman had reportedly shot an 18-year-old man and 12-year-old girl (both of whom were hospitalized) at the mall, turning the entire shopping center into chaos.  When the police showed up at the mall, an Alabama police officer had fired a shot at the 21-year-old man, who had originally been thought of as the suspect.  After much review and investigation, the Hoover Police Department released a statement saying that the man killed was not the suspect according to eye-witness interviews.

The police department informed the public that the uniformed officers who were providing security at the mall saw a suspect in possession of a pistol and shot him.  It is still unclear whether or not the officers believed Mr. Bradford fired or intended to fire before he was killed, however Mr. Bradford had been carrying that gun legally.  In a state that does not prohibit people from carrying firearms in public, Mr. Bradford was licensed to carry a firearm.

The family of Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. was outraged at the incident and the police response that followed.  The father of Emantic continued to call the police department Thursday night after hearing about his son's shooting.  The Emantic Sr. was told he would get a call back in ten minutes, however the call never came.  He waited several hours before he was called and was able to talk to someone from the police department.

In addition to the outrage from his family, Benjamin Crump, the attorney of Bradford Jr.'s mother, denounced the Hoover police department for profiling Mr. Bradford Jr. as the suspect because he was a black man with a gun.  The Hoover Police Department is currently conducting an internal investigation into Mr. Bradford Jr's killer.  The officer has not been identified, but he has been put on administrative leave until the investigation is complete.