ATLANTA • The Georgia prosecutors who first handled the fatal shooting of a black man, before charges were filed more than two months later, were placed under investigation Tuesday for their conduct in the case, which has fueled a national outcry and questions about whether the slaying was racially motivated.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced that he asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and federal authorities to investigate how local prosecutors handled the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was pursued by a white father and son before being shot on a residential street just outside the port city of Brunswick. Arbery’s relatives have said he was merely jogging through the subdivision at the time.

Gregory and Travis McMichael were not charged with murder until last week, after the release of a video of the Feb. 23 shooting. “Unfortunately, many questions and concerns have arisen” about the actions of the district attorneys, Carr said Tuesday in a statement.

As a result, the attorney general asked the GBI to review the matter “to determine whether the process was undermined in any way.”

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said federal prosecutors have asked Carr to share results. Federal officials are also considering whether hate crimes charges are warranted.

Gregory McMichael told police he and his grown son armed themselves and pursued the young man because they they thought he matched the description of a burglary suspect.

Brunswick Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson defended her office’s involvement, which she insisted was minimal because the elder McMichael worked for her as an investigator before retiring a year ago. That relationship required the office to step from the case.

REMOVES “UNARMED” AND ADDS THAT AUTHORITIES HAVE NOT CONFIRMED THAT ARBERY WAS EITHER ARMED OR UNARMED – People react during a rally to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, Friday, May 8, 2020, in Brunswick Ga. Two men have been charged with murder in the February shooting death of Arbery, a black man in his mid-20s, whom they had pursued in a truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

John Bazemore