SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — A man suspected of shooting two teenagers at an Alabama mall last week — which resulted in officers killing a man who was not the shooter — has been arrested in metro Atlanta, officials said.
Erron Martez Dequan Brown was arrested by U.S. marshals on Thursday morning at a relative's house in Fairburn, said Frank Lumpka, of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The agency received a tip indicating Brown was there and got a warrant for his arrest, Lumpka said. Brown, 20, of Bessemer, Alabama, was taken to the Fulton County Jail.
Fairburn home where Alabama mall shooting suspect was arrested by Marshals this morning, previous AL mugshot of suspect Erron Brown . No one talking in home @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/SL0SeCiCoS
— Nicole Carr (@NicoleCarrWSB) November 29, 2018
The shooting made national headlines after police announced they had shot and killed Emantic Bradford Jr., who they erroneously characterized as the suspect. Later, they revealed he did not pull the trigger and was only holding a gun at the scene.
Officials said the actual shooter was on the loose.
Two other people, an 18-year-old young man and a 12-year-old girl, were wounded in the Thanksgiving night shooting at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover.
Police initially portrayed the officers as heroes who were able to quickly "take out the threat." They later retracted that statement.
Bradford's death sparked protests in the area from dozens of people who expressed anger at the police shooting.
Family members said Bradford had a license to legally carry the gun.
"I knew my son didn't do that," Emantic Bradford Sr. told The Associated Press. "People rushed to judgment. They shouldn't have done that."
In a joint statement, the city and police department extended their sympathy to Bradford's family, "who was shot and killed during Hoover Police efforts to secure the scene in the seconds following the original altercation and shooting."
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in a statement Thursday that Brown is expected to be extradited from Georgia and booked into the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham. He should be charged with attempted murder and held on a $150,000 bond, the ALEA said.
The investigation into the incident, including Bradford's death, is ongoing, officials said.
Cox Media Group
