Man who shot Arbery testifies: 'He had my gun. He struck me'

McMichael said Arbery attacked him immediately: “He’s at the front quarter panel on the right hand side and he turns and is on me. And it is on, in a flash.”

In the video, the truck blocks the view until after the first gunshot is fired. The video then shows both men with hands on the gun as a bleeding Arbery punches McMichael. After the third shot, Arbery turns to run, then falls facedown in the street.

The medical examiner who performed the autopsy said only two of the shotgun blasts hit Arbery, but each struck at close range. One punched a hole in the center of his chest. The other severed an artery near his left armpit and fractured his arm.

Authorities say the McMichaels and Bryan chased Arbery for five minutes before the shooting, using their trucks to cut off Arbery's escape. Greg McMichael told police they had him “trapped like a rat.” Bryan said he used his truck to run Arbery off the road several times.

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said: “Mr. Travis McMichael killed my son all on assumptions. He didn’t know where Ahmaud was coming from or what Ahmaud had done. He just took actions into his own hands.”

Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough, argued Wednesday that Bryan never intended to harm Arbery and never tried to hide his involvement in the pursuit. He noted that Bryan openly shared his video — the key piece of evidence — with police officers at the scene.

The defense began its case after Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley denied a request from defense attorneys to ban prominent civil rights leaders and other high-profile visitors from the courtroom, where seating has been limited because of COVID-19 precautions.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson sat with Arbery's parents in court for the second time this week. The defendants' attorneys have said Jackson's presence and that of others who have spoken in support of convictions could unfairly influence the jury.

The trial is taking place before a disproportionately white jury at the Glynn County courthouse in coastal Georgia.

Arbery, 25, had enrolled at a technical college and was preparing to study to become an electrician like his uncles when he was killed.