Members of the running community have planned a virtual run in order to show support for 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery who was gunned down while on a jog in his Georgian neighborhood of Brunswick.
Organizers have asked the public to jog, walk or run 2.23 miles on Friday, which was going to be the 26th birthday of Arbery. The jog is to be 2.23 miles long to honor the date, February 23, Arbery was shot.
People taking part in the activity are also being advised to share their thoughts, videos, or photos on the topic on social media channels using the hashtag #IRunWithMaud.
“Our community here in Brunswick, GA, lost an avid runner on 2/23/2020, while out on a run. Ahmaud Arbery’s life was taken away from us, by a group of men who falsely suspected him of wrongdoing,” says a post in the Facebook group about the commemorative running activity.
“Those men have not been arrested and the community is still searching for answers.”
It was February 23 when Arbery was jogging in his neighborhood. When he passed by the home of the McMichael family, the residents – 64-year-old Gregory and 34-year-old Travis McMichael – started following him.
The father and son later told the authorities that they tracked Arbery down because he matched the description of the suspect involved in local break-ins issued by the local authorities.
The McMichaels told the police “they ‘didn’t know if the male was armed or not,” and hence Gregory took his .357 magnum and Travis armed himself with a shotgun.
The McMichaels then got in their truck and followed Arbery.
According to their statement, they yelled at him to stop and listen to them but he didn’t listen. At last, Travis stopped his truck and confronted Arbery.
The case could not get proper media attention due to the coronavirus emergency going on, but that changed when a video of the bloody encounter surfaced recently.
The McMichaels are yet to be arrested and no criminal charges have so far been pressed against them.
The prosecution says that they will be presenting the charges in front of a grand jury for possible indictment of the McMichaels.
Lee Merritt, an attorney for Arbery’s family, rejected any possibility of self-defense being used as an excuse. “There’s more than enough evidence for a case for murder,” Lee said in a statement to CBS News.
The McMicahels’ attorneys have not yet been identified.
Jason Vaughn, the football coach from Arbery’s former high school, said in a statement to CNN that the dedication run will act as a tool to unite the community.
“With Covid-19 of course, we can’t have a demonstration where we all come together,” Jason said.
“Any runner can identify with Maud, a guy who may have had a bad day, but he can go out there and hit the pavement and go jog.”
Replaced!