The family of Bilal “BJ” Abdullah, an arabber killed by Baltimore Police this summer, is condemning the findings of state investigators who cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said Tuesday that his office would not be seeking charges against the officers who shot Abdullah, 36. The office released an 11-page report detailing what led up to the June 17 shooting.

Abdullah’s relatives said they received the report in the mail ahead of its public release. Dismayed by the findings, they said they decided to hold a press event and demand the attorney general reopen the case. On Tuesday, about 20 people gathered outside the entrance to the Penn North Metro SubwayLink station, near the site where Abdullah exchanged gunfire with police.

“My son was a human being. He was slaughtered like he was a pig in the street, like his life didn’t matter,” said Joy Alston, 67, who stood up from her walker to address the media. “Police officers are trained to defuse a situation, not escalate a situation. This situation was escalated from the very beginning.”

Police previously said three officers — Devin Yancy, Omar Rodriguez and Ashley Negron — fired 38 shots that day; Abdullah fired three.

Investigators from the attorney general’s office review all police incidents that result in fatalities. Lawmakers also gave the office the authority to prosecute police-involved deaths in 2023.

Since then, the office’s Independent Investigations Division has brought criminal charges against police officers in two incidents: a fatal crash resulting from a pursuit by two Anne Arundel County officers in 2023 and another fatal pursuit involving an Anne Arundel County officer in 2024. The first prosecution was ultimately unsuccessful. Weeks later, two leaders of the division at the attorney general’s office left their posts.

Tuesday’s report from the attorney general noted that Abdullah fired the first shot and pointed his gun at the officers. One of his shots struck an officer in the foot.

The report also contained new information about what happened before the shooting.

Baltimore Police had previously said they received a tip that Abdullah displayed a weapon and made threats to people. The attorney general’s office said the tipster was a “private citizen” who sent a text message to an off-duty Baltimore Police sergeant. The tipster included a picture of the well-known arabber and warned that he was carrying a gun in his bag.

The attorney general’s report did not say that Abdullah had been threatening people.

Within a few minutes, the sergeant forwarded the text and photo to a detective, who located Abdullah on a live video feed sitting outside the transit stop on Pennsylvania Avenue. That information was then forwarded to plainclothes Baltimore Police officers who were driving nearby and responded to the scene.

At about 7:15 p.m., an unmarked police cruiser pulled up to the scene, the report said.

“Mr. Abdullah briefly walked up to the cruiser and greeted the officer, then began walking away,” the report said. “At that point, all three officers activated their body-worn cameras.”

When Rodriguez approached, Abdullah ran from the officer, who gave chase, the report said. Abdullah moved his bag to his torso and reached inside.

“Within a few seconds, as Detective Rodriguez caught up to Mr. Abdullah and grabbed his shirt, Mr. Abdullah’s handgun discharged once, and he fell to the ground.”

Then Abdullah stood up and pointed the gun toward Rodriguez, and the shoot-out began.

At their press event, the family did not dispute that Abdullah had a gun. But they argued that officers created the situation that led to the deadly shooting.

“If y’all look around right now, guess what? We got police on every corner. Police cars. Not undercover cars. They’re here all day,” said Taj Abdullah, Bilal’s brother.

Taj Abdullah said people in Penn North are used to a constant police presence, and that a shooting like this would have never taken place had it not been for the way officers acted that day.

“They approached this man and got into a full-blown shoot-out,” he said.

Attorney Alec Summerfield of the Peoples Power Assembly said the family is planning to file a lawsuit against the Baltimore Police Department and the three officers involved.

Abdullah’s death drew hundreds to a demonstration in Upton. Horse-drawn wagons belonging to fellow arabbers led a march down Pennsylvania Avenue, where people called, “Justice for the fruit man!”

Abdullah was one of Baltimore’s youngest arabbers, though he wasn’t actively arabbing at the time of the shooting.

Police Commissioner Richard Worley said in June the shooting was “tragic,” but he praised the officers’ response. Mayor Brandon Scott said he did not believe officers should have acted differently, though he sympathized with the “pain and trauma” in the wake of Abdullah’s death.

Four people died after encounters with Baltimore Police this year, including Abdullah.

Police fatally shot Jai Marc Howell, 26, in May. Dontae Melton Jr., 31, died in the custody of 10 officers in June. Police also fatally shot 70-year-old Pytorcarcha Brooks while conducting a wellness check on June 25.

The attorney general's office has brought criminal charges against police officers in two incidents since 2023. An earlier version of this article misstated the number of incidents.