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Hoover, Ala Officers Fatally Shot Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. who was believed to be the gunman in a mall shooting, now they say he wasn’t the shooter.

Thursday night Hoover, Ala Police officials explained why one of their officers fatally shot 21-year-old Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. in an Alabama mall. They stated their officer had stopped an active shooter in the mall.

However, now they are saying they made a mistake.

The incident took place when Hoover officers responded to reports of shots fired at Riverchase Galleria Mall. The scene was painted as a chaotic leaving multiple people injured Al.com reported.

The police released a statement and held a press conference stating two men began fighting inside the mall. Then one man drew a gun and shot an 18-year-old man twice and a 12-year-old. The police stated as the gunman fled, officers saw him he “brandished” a pistol and the police shot the suspect dead.

The statement from the Hoover Police Department said:

“During the fight, one of the males produced a handgun and shot the other male twice in the torso. Two uniformed Hoover police officers providing security at the mall were in close proximity and heard the gunshots. While moving toward the scene, one of the officers encountered a suspect brandishing a pistol and shot him. That individual, a 21-year-old male from Hueytown, was pronounced deceased on the scene.”

The suspect was Bradford whom Hoover Police Department Captain Greg Rector had publicly labeled as the shooter. Then late Friday evening the Hoover police released another statement concerning their officers killing the 21-year-old Bradford.

“New evidence suggests that while Mr. Bradford was likely involved in some aspect of the altercation,” the statement said, “he likely did not fire the rounds that injured the 18-year-old victim. We regret that our initial media release was not totally accurate but new evidence suggests it was not.”

Bradford was known to friends and family as E.J was enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduating high school the Hoover Sun reported. As of now Bradford’s family, including his father who works as a law enforcement officer, has declined comment on Bradford Jr.’s death.

The Hoover police department says they are still searching for the initial shooting suspect. However, they do still insist that Bradford brandished an firearm toward a officer.

Bradford’s aunt, Catherine Jewell, told ABC News on Saturday. Jewell said her nephew was in the Army and was home for Thanksgiving.

“He was a great guy, he was very respectable,” she said. “They did him wrong.”

On Saturday protesters in support of Bradford gathered at the mall where he was killed, holding signs, “stop police killings.”

The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation.

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