Cops: Man killed by officer at Alabama mall not shooter

HOOVER, Ala. — Protesters on Saturday marched through a shopping mall here where police killed a black man they later acknowledged was not the triggerman in a Thanksgiving night shooting that wounded two people.

An officer shot and killed 21year-old Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. of Hueytown while responding to the Thursday mall shooting. Police said Bradford was fleeing the scene with a weapon.

Hoover police initially told reporters that Bradford had shot a teen at the mall, but they later retracted the statement.

“We knew that was false,” stepmother Cynthia Bradford said when she heard police were blaming him for the shooting. She described her stepson, who went by E.J., as a respectful young man who is the son of a Birmingham police officer.

Hoover Police Capt. Gregg Rector said investigators now believe that more than two people were involved in the initial fight ahead of the shooting and that “at least one gunman” is still at large who could be responsible.

Police said that while Bradford “may have been involved in some aspect of the altercation, he likely did not fire the rounds that injured the 18-year-old victim.” Rector said police regret that their initial statement about Bradford was not accurate.

More than 200 demonstrators, including several relatives, chanted “E.J” and “no justice, no peace” as they marched past Christmas shoppers at the mall. They held a moment of silence at the spot outside a shoe store where Bradford was killed.

“They should never have killed him,” said Emani Smith, Bradford’s 7-year-old half-sister, while other family members cried.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating the incident. The Hoover Police Department is conducting its own internal investigation.

The officer who shot Bradford was placed on administrative leave.