Vigil to be held at Columbia church for Georgia man killed in controversial shooting
A Columbia church will hold a Sunday afternoon vigil for Ahmaud Arbery, the black man recently killed in Georgia during a controversial shooting that sparked nationwide outrage after a video surfaced of the incident.
The Sidney Park CME Church will hold the 3 p.m. vigil outside its church, located at 1114 Blanding St.
Members of the Columbia chapter of NAACP and other black community leaders will speak at the vigil, according to a statement sent by a local NAACP official. To adhere to social distancing, people are asked to attend the vigil by driving by the church in vehicles and honking their horns three times to mark the number of gunshots fired during the altercation that led to Arbery’s death.
On Feb. 23 Arbery, 25, was killed near Brunswick, Ga., while he was jogging. Two white men — Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael — now face murder and aggravated assault charges in the death of Arbery, whom the men said they believed was a burglar.
Arbery’s death rose to national attention earlier this week when a video of the shooting surfaced and was widely shared. The outcry prompted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to step in and led to the two men being arrested Thursday.
The Columbia vigil will also honor Joshua Ruffin, a black teenager who the Columbia Police Department said was shot in north Columbia in April by a white department officer. The officer stopped Ruffin as the teen was walking along a road where a series of car break-ins were reported, the department said.
Ruffin is alleged to have ran away and pulled a gun as the officer chased him, according to the department.
Reporter Sarah Ellis contributed to this article.
This story was originally published May 9, 2020 at 12:56 PM.