The Latest: 200 attend vigil for man shot by officer at mall
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of an Alabama man by a police officer at a mall. (all times local):
8:40 p.m.
About 200 people attended a community vigil for in Alabama for a young black man killed by a police officer in a shopping mall.
The vigil was held Tuesday night at Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church, where a racist bombing killed four black girls in 1963.
E.J. Bradford's mother April Pipkins entered to a standing ovation and collapsed in tears onstage as she began speaking at the church vigil. Paramedics took her to a hospital to monitor her condition.
Bradford was shot to death Thanksgiving night by a police officer responding to a shooting at the mall.
Police initially described Bradford as the shooter, but they later said it was unlikely that he fired the shots.
Regional NAACP field director Kevin Myles said Bradford's killing was part of a pattern of police killing black men without cause.
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5:25 p.m.
The mother of a young black man killed by a police officer in an Alabama shopping mall says she believes her son would still be alive had he been white.
April Pipkins told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she believes the "whole scenario would have played out differently."
Pipkins' son, E.J. Bradford, was shot to death Thanksgiving night by a police officer responding to a report of a shooting at the mall.
Police initially described Bradford as the mall gunman. They said he had a gun in his hand, but they later said it was unlikely that he fired the shots.
Ben Crump, a lawyer representing the Bradford family, said witnesses have contacted his law firm saying Bradford was trying to wave people away from the shooting.
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1:30 p.m.
Leaders of an Alabama city are meeting behind closed doors following the shooting death of a black man at a shopping mall.
The Hoover City Council met publicly for about two minutes Tuesday before voting unanimously to go into executive session.
Council President Gene Smith says the discussion is about the "legal ramifications" of impending litigation.
Smith didn't elaborate on any potential suit. But the session comes just five days after a Hoover police officer shot and killed a man inside Alabama's largest shopping mall on Thanksgiving night.
Relatives of the shooting victim, 21-year-old Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., have been represented by a civil rights lawyer since his death.
A town hall and prayer meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening at 16th Street Baptist Church.
