A local activist, Gerald Rose, says he is working with the Smyrna police to identify a man accused of murdering a 22-year-old.

Surveillance video showed Michael Ezzard Jr struggling over a gun with the shooter before he was killed.

His family wants people to see the video to help catch the killer.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden spoke with Ezzard’s family and friends who are praying for justice.

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“First of all, I want to give my regards to the family. I know they are still grieving,” Rose said.

He describes it as an epidemic within the pandemic.

“We always say Black lives matter and then we out here as African Americans killing each other. This is the birthplace of Dr. King. You know I just don’t understand what’s going on these days,” Rose said.

He is the founder and CEO of the New Order National Human Rights Organization, and made those comments outside the Smyrna Police Department headquarters Friday. Inside, SPD investigators are working round the clock, trying to identify the suspects behind the murder of 22-year-old of Michael Ezzard Jr.

Anglea Jones told Channel 2 that she remembers talking to her son an hour before he was shot and killed. The brazen murder was captured on camera.

“He was my only child. It’s like my heart has been ripped out my chest. I can’t breathe sometimes,” Jones said.

This video is disturbing, but Michael’s family asked us to share it because they believe it will help police catch the gunman.

“They have took not just his life but mine. They took my life,” Jones said.

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You can see Ezzard talking to people outside this store at the Five Points Shopping Center in Smryna on Monday night. The gunman runs up to Ezzard, and the two begin to wrestle. We stopped the video just before the shooting happened. Minutes later, another video shows a woman waiting inside a grey Honda at the Board of Education parking lot nearby. The gunman casually walks up to the car and the two take off.

Police don’t believe this was a robbery, and they say it was very calculated.

We have reached out to the Smyrna police, trying to see if they’ve received any new information regarding the suspects.  But they told us this is still an ongoing investigation.

If you have any information, please call the Smyrna police.

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