Joshua Brown, a witness whotestified in Amber Guyger’s trial, was fatally shot on Friday, two days after the former Texas cop, who is white, wassentenced to 10 years in prisonfor killing a black man in his apartment.
Brown, 28, who lived across the hall from Botham Jean at the time of the 2018 shooting, was shot and killed on Friday at a Dallas apartment complex,TheDallas Morning Newsreported.
The Dallas Police Department toldTIMEin a statement that they responded to reports of a fatal shooting at 10:30 p.m. and found the victim, whom they did not identify, “lying on the ground in the apartment parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds.”
The victim was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries, according to police. Although a suspect has not been taken into custody, several witnesses reported having heard gunshots and seeing a car driving away from the parking lot.
While police have not released the identity of the victim, Dallas County District Attorney’s Office Kimberlee Leach did identify Brown as the deceased to PEOPLE.
The Dallas Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Joshua Brown.CBSDFW
Attorney Lee Merrit, who represented Jean’s family during the trial, has spoken out on social media numerous times about Brown’s death.
“His murder underscores the reality of the black experience in America,” Merritwroteon a social media post on Saturday. “A former athlete turned entrepreneur— Brown lived in constant fear that he could be the next victim of gun violence, either state sanctioned or otherwise.”
Merrit added, “Brown deserves the same justice he sought to ensure the Jean family. The Dallas County criminal justice system must mobilized to identify his killer and see that he is held accountable for this murder.”
Merrit went on to post a video taken during Brown’s testimony, where he became emotional while speaking about how he was able to hear Jean “singing every morning” from his apartment.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also spoken out about Brown’s death.
In an interview withThe Dallas Morning News, prosecutor Jason Hermus praised Brown for “bravely coming forward to testify when others wouldn’t,” adding, “If we had more people like him, we would have a better world.”
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Guyger wasfound guiltyon Tuesday of killing her 26-year-old neighbor on another floor inside his own apartment, claiming she mistook him for someone burglarizing her own home.
Although the former Dallas police officer, 31, faced a maximum sentence of 99 years, she was only sentenced to 10 years in prison.
It was not immediately clear if Guyger intends to appeal her conviction.
source: people.com
