Jordan JaDella Smith
On November 22, 2018, Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. was fatally shot at a mall in Hoover, Alabama. On Thanksgiving night in the Riverchase Galleria, an alleged fight broke out between two teenagers near Footaction that horribly led to a horrific gunfire. One of the teens, an 18-year-old, was struck by gunfire and tried to flee the scene but was confronted by two Hoover police officers. He was taken to UAB Hospital and is in very serious condition. A young 12-year-old girl was also struck by gunfire and was taken to Children’s of Alabama, she is fortunately in stable condition.
After police fatally shot Bradford, evidence suggested that he was not the gunman and that the true gunman is still loose. The Hoover Police Department wrote on Twitter that the man who was killed, “may have been involved in some aspect” but police failed to acknowledge if he verbally said that he was involved when they confronted him. The Hoover Police Department also released a statement from the mall security that they “encountered a suspect brandishing a pistol and shot him.” It was never made clear if Bradford intended to fire before he was wrongfully murdered. Mr. Bradford’s mother, April Pipkins, stated that Mr. Bradford “loved life, and he loved people.” Mr. Bradford was also licensed to carry a firearm and according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Alabama does not prohibit people from carrying firearms in public.
An innocent black man was murdered, he was in the military, and he had a permit to carry a weapon. Citizens of Birmingham, Alabama are actively protesting in the Riverchase Galleria and are boycotting shopping in “racist cities” in Alabama such as Vestavia, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Fultondale, Gardendale, Trussville, and Tarrant. Many African Americans have vowed to no longer financially support those cities because tax dollars go to the maintenance of that municipality. Because of the many speculations involving the death of Mr.Bradford, dozens marched and protested with chants and signs on his behalf on Riverchase Galleria this past Saturday.