Police have admitted a black man they shot dead while responding to a shooting at a shopping centre was "likely" not the attacker.
Hoover police initially told reporters Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr, 21, had shot an 18-year-old at the mall on Friday – but a day later retracted the statement.
The shootings took place on Thanksgiving evening in the Riverchase Galleria in Birmingham, Alabama, as shoppers crowded stores looking for Black Friday bargains.
The 18-year-old was shot twice and a 12-year-old bystander was shot in the back. Both survived their injuries.
Police had said one of their officers encountered "a suspect [Mr Bradford] brandishing a pistol" and shot him.
However in a statement on Saturday, Hoover police said: "New evidence now suggests that while Mr Bradford may have been involved in some aspect of the altercation, he likely did not fire the rounds that injured the 18-year-old victim."
Responding to the retraction, Mr Bradford's stepmother, Cynthia Bradford, said: "We knew that was false."
She described her stepson as a respectful young man who was the son of a Birmingham police department officer.
Video circulating online shows Mr Bradford dying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.
Hoover police captain Gregg Rector said they regret that their initial statement about Mr Bradford was not accurate.
He said investigators now believe that more than two people were involved in an initial fight ahead of the shooting, and "at least one gunman" who may be responsible is still at large.
Relatives were joined by more than 200 demonstrators and chanted Mr Bradford's nickname – EJ – and "no justice, no peace" as they marched in the mall on Saturday where the young man died.
A moment of silence was observed at the spot outside a shoe shop where Mr Bradford was killed.
"They should have never have killed him," Emani Smith, Mr Bradford's seven-year-old half-sister said, while other family members cried.
There have been demands for police to release body camera and surveillance footage.
The shooting of Mr Bradford is being investigated by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, while the Hoover Police Department is conducting its own internal investigation.
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The officer who shot Mr Bradford has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigations.
The New York Times reports Mr Bradford's family is being represented by the lawyer who previously represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice – whose deaths have been protested against by the Black Lives Matter movement.
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Sky News
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