Combo photo shows three close-up shots of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery widely circulated on the Internet. (Xinhua)
A grand jury has indicted three suspects on murder charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was fatally shot when jogging in southern U.S. state Georgia in February, a district attorney said on Wednesday.
Glynn County's grand jury has indicted Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William Bryan on malice and felony murder charges for the death of Arbery, Cobb District Attorney Joyette Holmes said at a press conference.
"This is another step forward in seeking justice for Ahmaud," Holmes said in a statement.
The three men were charged with nine counts, including malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment, according to media reports.
Arbery, 25, was chased, shot and killed while jogging outside Brunswick on Feb. 23. No charges had been filed in the case until a cellphone video of the shooting went viral in early May, making it a national case.
According to police reports cited by U.S. media, Gregory McMichael, a retired police detective, saw Arbery jogging and thought he was a suspect in a series of 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. Bryan saw the McMichaels driving by and joined the pursuit.
The three are currently being held in the Glynn County jail without bond.
Arbery's tragedy fueled widespread outrage over racial inequity in the United States as African Americans are suffering a disproportionate share of the negative health and economic outcomes from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
