Police: Gunman in deadly Alabama mall shooting arrested in Georgia
SOUTH FULTON, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - The U.S. Marshals Service confirms the suspect wanted in connection with a deadly shooting at a mall in Hoover, Alabama has been arrested in South Fulton.
Authorities told FOX 5’s Aungelique Proctor that they arrested Erron Brown, 20, at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday in South Fulton.
Brown will be taken to the South Fulton Police Precinct, where he will be questioned by local and Alabama authorities. U.S. Marshals said Brown was staying at a relative's house when he was arrested.
The shooting happened late Thanksgiving night at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover. Police said it began when two men got into a physical altercation and one of the men pulled out a handgun and shot the other man twice. The other shooting victim was an 18-year-old male from Birmingham. He was taken to a nearby hospital in serious condition. A 12-year-old bystander was also shot and taken to Children’s Hospital by a Hoover Fire Department rescue squad. She was reportedly in stable condition.
Two officers who were providing security at the mall heard the gunfire and approached the area. They spotted a suspect waving a pistol and shot him. The man, Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., 21, died at the scene.
Hoover police initially portrayed Bradford as the mall gunman and said officers acted heroically to "take out the threat" within seconds of shots being fired in the crowded mall. They later retracted the statement, and said while Bradford was seen with a handgun, evidence indicates he was not the person who shot the 18-year-old and 12-year-old bystander.
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The actual gunman was later identified as Brown. Alabama officials said he will be extradited from Georgia and booked into the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham under a $150,000 bond. Additional charges are expected.
The officer who shot Bradford has been placed on administrative leave while the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigates the shooting.
The mall, located in metro Birmingham, reopened at 6 a.m. on Black Friday. It bills itself as the largest enclosed shopping center in Alabama, with more than 150 stores.