The Department of Justice is now looking at the evidence to determine if hate crime charges should be filed.
Georgia jogger Ahmaud Arbery, who police say was followed and killed by a white father and son, was shot three times, including twice in the chest, according to an autopsy report released late Monday. One of the shots grazed Arbery’s right wrist, but he was ultimately killed by the two shotgun blasts to the chest, NBC reported, confirming what many have suspected from the viral video.
He was also found to have had neither drugs nor alcohol in his system, according to WSB.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is now “assessing all evidence” to determine whether to pursue federal hate crime charges in the high-profile case.
“We will continue to assess all information, and we will take any appropriate action that is warranted by all the facts and the law,” Department of Justice spokesperson Kerri Kupec said in a statement Monday.
This comes following public outrage and pressure from his family members and civil rights groups, and much criticism over how law enforcement has handled the case.
Georgia's top prosecutor Chris Carr also appointed a new district attorney for the case – the fourth since Arbery's death.
Arbery, who is black, was killed Feb. 23 in a neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia. The two white men were arrested weeks later in connection with his murder only after a video of the shooting went viral on social media. Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis, 34, were charged with charged with murder and aggravated assault.
The McMichaels had said they believed Arbery was a break-in suspect and the black man "violently" attacked Travis, leading to a struggle over their shotgun, during which time Travis fired in self-defense.
Arbery’s family maintained that he was unarmed and doing “what he loved” when he was out for a run on a routine Sunday afternoon.
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