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Ahmaud Arbery: New video appears to show victim at home construction site before shooting

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — New video obtained by ABC News shows a man who appears to be Ahmaud Arbery wander inside a home under construction.

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Arbery, 25, was shot to death Feb. 23 as he jogged through a neighborhood outside of Brunswick, Georgia. Arbery was fatally shot at least twice with a shotgun by Travis McMichael, who, along with his retired law enforcement father, Greg McMichael, was arrested on murder charges. The men were jailed 74 days later after video surfaced of the encounter.

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The video sparked outrage, and the Georgia attorney general has since asked for the Department of Justice to look into the handling of the case, WSB-TV reported.

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The McMichaels said they believed Arbery was robbing the home and were trying to make a citizen’s arrest. A separate video from a home across the street from the construction site appeared to show Arbery go inside for a few minutes, the television station reported.

The Arbery family’s lawyer said it did appear Arbery looked around inside the home, but he did not take anything and was not committing a crime.

The new video shows Arbery walk inside the house under construction and glance around, WSB reported.

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The family who owns that home issued a statement, saying they had nothing to do with the shooting and are praying for the Arbery family.

“First, and most important, the English family -- the homeowners -- want Ahmaud Arbery’s parents to know that they are very sorry for the loss of their son and they are praying for them,” the statement read. "Second, it is crucial to understand that the English family -- the homeowners -- were not part of what the McMichaels did. The first accounts suggested a link between the McMichaels and the homeowners, but there is none. The English family had no relationship with the McMichaels and did not even know what had occurred until after Mr. Arbery’s death was reported to them.

“After seeing Mr. Arbery’s photo in news reports, Larry English did not even think Mr. Arbery was the person that appears in this video. Even if it had been, however, Mr. English would never have sought a vigilante response, much less one resulting in a tragic death.”

Six minutes after showing the victim at the construction site, video shows Arbery leave the home and run down the street. Nothing appears to be in his hands. A neighbor appears on camera across the street about the same time a 911 call was made.

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"He's running right now," the 911 caller said. "There he goes right now."

According to WSB, the 911 caller asked if the man was doing anything wrong. The 911 caller told dispatchers that the man had been caught on camera many times at night.

“It’s kind of an ongoing thing,” the caller said.

A short time later, the video shows a pickup truck pulling out of the area where the McMichaels live. Arbery was shot to death after the McMichaels followed him. Arbery got into a scuffle with Travis McMichael over a shotgun, WSB reported.

A family lawyer said the video shows what family members already knew: That he was jogging and stopped to take a look at a construction site.

Here’s the Arbery family’s full statement:

“Our office has reviewed the surveillance video which appears to show a person, believed to be Ahmaud Arbery, entering a property under construction. The individual remains on the property for under 3 minutes before continuing to jog down the road. This video is consistent with the evidence already known to us. Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog. He stopped by a property under construction where he engaged in no illegal activity and only remained for a brief period. Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site. He did not cause any damage to property. He remained for a brief period of time and was not instructed by anyone to leave, but rather left on his own accord to continue his jog. Ahmaud’s actions at this empty home under construction were in no way a felony under Georgia law. This video confirms that Mr. Arbery’s murder was not justified and the actions of the men who pursued him and ambushed him were unjustified. We reiterate, Ahmaud Arbery did not take part in any felony, had no illegal substances in his system, was not armed yet was shot three times with a shotgun at close range.”


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