Grand Jury to Decide Fate of Man Charged in Mall Shooting
Jefferson County District Judge William Bell Jr. sent the case of Erron Brown to a grand jury following a Thursday preliminary hearing. Brown is charged with attempted murder in the Galleria mall shooting that injured two people on Thanksgiving.
The case drew national attention after police fatally shot 21-year-old Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr., believing he was the gunman.
Prosecutors said bullets from Brown’s gun struck Brian Wilson in the chest and abdomen that night at the mall. Another of Brown’s bullets remains lodged in a 12-year-old girl, who was also wounded in the shooting.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall took over the case in December. His office is handling the investigation into Bradford’s shooting and the case involving Brown.
Brown’s lawyer, Charles Salvagio, said his client was acting in self-defense when he fired a .40 caliber pistol at Wilson.
“Brian Wilson walked up, slapped him, punched him more than once, then Erron fired,” Salvagio said.
At some point before the shooting, Salvagio said, Wilson and Brown had a disagreement.
Roosevelt Poole provided witness testimony at Thursday’s hearing. He was with Brown at the mall. He said Bradford was with Wilson. Bradford texted Poole to ask where he and Brown were in the mall, according to Poole.
“They contacted Roosevelt Poole, and then came up there and all hell broke loose,” Salvagio said.
The fight and the shooting happened on the second floor of the mall near Foot Action and JC Penney.
Poole said Bradford walked up and shook Poole’s hand. That’s when Wilson began punching Brown.
Poole, Erron Brown and another friend fled the mall after shots were fired. Brown’s friend testified that Brown was nervous after shooting Wilson and said, “I think I killed him.”
Poole said almost two days later someone fired several rounds into the house where he and Brown lived.
Salvagio said Brown fled to Georgia to stay with a relative for a few days and did not tell his relative about his trouble in Birmingham. U.S. Marshals arrested Brown in Georgia on Nov. 29. Pete Acosta of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency testified that the gun Brown used in the shooting was found with his clothes in Georgia.
Thursday, the Judge Bell reduced Brown’s bond to $60,000. Bell said Brown must wear a monitor if he bonds out of jail.
Salvagio said surveillance tapes show Bradford waving a gun.
Centrist Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivia’s presidential runoff, topping right-wing rival
Centrist senator Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidency with 54% of the vote, ending 20 years of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism party amid economic turmoil.
Trump announces tariffs and an end to U.S. aid to Colombia amid clash over drug trade
The U.S. will slash assistance to Colombia and enact tariffs on its exports because the country's leader, Gustavo Petro, "does nothing to stop" drug production, President Donald Trump said Sunday.
Sam Rivers, bassist and founding member of Limp Bizkit, dies aged 48
"Sam Rivers wasn't just our bass player — he was pure magic. The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound," Limp Bizkit said in a social media post Saturday.
Israel strikes Gaza as both IDF and Hamas accuse each other of breaching ceasefire
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it responded after "terrorists" attacked troops operating in the Rafah area with gunfire and an anti-tank missile. Hamas said it was unaware of the clashes.
Masked thieves steal ‘priceless’ jewels from the Louvre museum
France's Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, called the heist "a major, highly organized operation" that lasted just seven minutes. Authorities were still drawing up the value of the stolen items.
Grab the goggles. Pickleball eye injuries are on the rise
Safety precautions haven't caught up with enthusiasm for the sport. Researchers call for a new push for eye-ware.
