Ahmaud Arbery seen inside home under construction in new video moments before he was ruthlessly shot dead
A third video showing a man resembling Ahmaud Arbery walking inside a home under construction moments before he is gunned down by Gregory and Travis McMichael has emerged.
The new surveillance video shot on February 23 at a home in the quiet neighborhood of Satilla Shores where Arbery had reportedly been jogging appears to show the 25-year-old looking around the home.
You can watch the video here.
In the short clip, provided by the homeowners, Arbery can be seen walking inside the site and looking around. Another view from the outside shows him walking around for a bit on the lawn and then scooting inside.
Around a minute later, after a car passes down the street, he comes out of the front door and sprints down the road towards the direction of the McMichaels' home.
An attorney for the homeowner, Elizabeth Graddy, said the homeowners did not have any relationship with the McMichaels and that they had no idea that the fatal shooting had occurred until after Arbery's death was reported to them.
"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," she said in a statement.
"Second, it is crucial to understand that the English family — the homeowners — were not part of what the McMichaels did," the statement continued. "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."
Both Gregory and Travis McMichael have been arrested and charged with murder after an initial video showing their confrontation with Arbery, shot by their friend, William “Roddie” Bryan, went viral on social media.
Besides that clip and the most recently released surveillance video, agents with the Georgia Board of Investigation are also reviewing additional footage from the Glynn County neighborhood.
The clip in question, which had been taken from a home security camera installed at a house around a block from the shooting, shows a man wearing a white shirt and shorts, believed to be Arbery, walking down Satilla Drive and then into a house under construction.
It is believed to be the same one belonging to the English family and had also been described in a witness report made to the police on a 911 call at 1:08 pm the same day.
Lawyers for Arbery's family had said that that video did not change the case or throw into question Arbery's innocence.
"This video is consistent with the evidence already known to us. Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog," they had said. "He stopped by a property under construction where he engaged in no illegal activity and remained for only a brief period. Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site. He did not cause any damage to the 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," the statement continued.
"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."