In September 2023, Abnerd Joseph, a former metro Atlanta assistant principal, was fatally shot in Chicago. On Martin Luther King Day, his family marched the streets of Atlanta, with shirts with his face on them and a large banner that read “Justice for Abnerd Joseph,” to fight for justice.
Chicago police said that Joseph was shot multiple times in the chest, abdomen, flank, armpit and ring finger at his downtown high rise after a dispute with another tenant. Joseph later died from his injuries. The tenant wasn’t charged and had a concealed carry license.
As Joseph’s family marched the streets, they shouted “Justice for Abnerd Joseph” and that they wanted justice “now.”
“He was an educator, he was an assistant principal, and he was murdered by a resident in his own condo,” Joseph’s sister said to rolling out. “We’re just trying to get justice for him. It’s been four months since his passing. There’s been no convictions or anything. We’re just trying to spread awareness for him.”
Joseph worked as an educator in Atlanta for almost a decade and moved to Chicago over a year ago to teach at a charter school. His main areas of focus were school climate, student discipline, schoolwide transitions and procedures and student safety.
3 Responses
Joseph was not killed in his home. He was killed outside a neighbor’s home on another floor. He had been trying to enter that person’s apartment.
He tried to enter many residences on multiple floors. Numerous people called 911 and the doorman to report this. There are audio and video recordings of him trying to enter other people’s condos in a manic or drug-fueled state.
The doorman and four residents went to intervene. Joseph attacked and disabled one person. He then attacked the doorman. The third person he attacked and injured carried a gun. Two additional people witnessed this; all spoke with the police.
There is no justice for Abnerd Joseph because he does not need any. The justice should go to the victims of his crimes: his neighbors that he terrorized and beat.
MLK was a practitioner of non-violent protest for social change. Abnerd Joseph violently attacked innocent neighbors and he died because of it. His family should focus on drug and mental health awareness and not be marching on MLK day.
Why don’t they release the video?
The comment by Mike Johnson is disinformation meant to distract from what actually happened. Joseph was shot by Garret Smith who lived only a few doors from Joseph on the 29th floor. Joseph was trying to get away from Smith who was intending on murdering him. Smith finally caught Joseph on the 48th floor where he intentionally took his life. You’ll notice these people who have something to say will never acknowledge how Smith was coincidentally 20 floors away from he lived.