Officer won’t face charges in Alabama mall shooting

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A police officer will not face charges for killing a man he mistook for the gunman in an Alabama mall shooting.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Tuesday that he concluded the officer did not break the law and won’t be charged in the death.

An officer shot 21-year-old Emantic “EJ” Bradford, Jr. while responding to a shooting on Thanksgiving night at a mall in Hoover, Alabama.

A report released by Marshall says the officer mistakenly believed Bradford fired the earlier shots but was still justified in shooting him. The report said the officer saw Bradford running toward the scene with a gun and believed he was trying to kill the shooting victim.

Bradford’s father, Emantic Bradford Sr. told news reporters that Marshall had “covered it up” for the officer.