Ahmaud Arbery Case: 911 Call By Accused Killer Released

MARIETTA, GA — Since a Cobb County district attorney has taken over the Ahmaud Arbery case, new evidence has been found, according to reports.

A 911 call obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was made by Travis McMichael, who is charged with murder. The call was made days before the fatal shooting that took the life of Arbery, who was jogging through his coastal Georgia neighborhood earlier this year.

The 25-year-old was jogging through his Satilla Shores neighborhood in Brunswick around 1 p.m. Feb. 23 when he was chased down and killed by two white men, his family said. Retired police detective Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested May 7 by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, two days after the agency took over the case from local authorities.

The elder McMichael said he thought Arbery looked like a suspect in a series of recent break-ins, according to a police incident report obtained by CNN.

McMichael called 911 days before the shooting.

“When I turned around, he took off running into the house,” the younger McMichael is heard saying and warning police of a possible weapon.

The suspect ran away.

“When I turned around and backed up, he reached into his pocket and ran into the house, so I don't know if he's armed or not, but he was acting liked he was,” Travis McMichael is heard saying.

The father and son told police they thought Arbery was a burglary suspect.

A preliminary hearing will soon be scheduled, said Gregory McMichael's defense team, who will also petition for bail, according to CNN.

McMichael’s attorneys released a written statement saying that "they look forward to gathering all the facts" in the shooting death.

People on social media have said that Arbery was targeted because of his race. Georgia is one of four states with no hate crime statutes.

There have been previous efforts to pass a hate crimes bill in the Georgia general assembly. HB 426 was introduced last year and passed the state house of representatives. When the legislative session suspended in March due the coronavirus pandemic, the bill stalled.

Since Arbery’s killing there's been a "newfound resurgence of interest in making sure Georgia gets this on the books," Georgia Rep. Karen Bennett, chairwoman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, told CBS News.

On Tuesday at a news conference at Arbery's gravesite, Georgia Rep. Gloria Frazier called for the bill to come to the senate floor for a vote when the legislature resumes in June. Frazier, along with Rep. Al Williams and Sen. Lester Jackson, also called on Tuesday to re-name HB 426 the “Ahmaud Arbery Hate Crime Bill.”

Holmes, a black district attorney from the Atlanta area, is the first black woman to serve as district attorney for the Cobb County Judicial Circuit. On Monday she was appointed by Georgia's attorney general to prosecute the father and son. Holmes is the fourth prosecutor who has been assigned the case.

SEE MORE:

• Ahmaud Arbery: Fatal Shooting Case Assigned To Cobb Prosecutor
• Ahmaud Arbery: Killing Of Black Georgia Jogger Goes To Grand Jury