MONTGOMERY, Ala. – (AP) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall says he is taking over the investigation into the police killing of a black man inside the state’s largest shopping mall on Thanksgiving night.

Marshall made the announcement during a news conference in Montgomery on Thursday. He says his office will oversee the case to prevent any possible conflicts involving local officials.

Near-daily protests have occurred since an officer shot and killed 21-year-old Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. in Hoover last month. Authorities say the officer mistook Bradford for the gunman in a shooting that happened moments earlier.

Marshall says his office will oversee the probe into Bradford’s death, plus the case against the man ultimately arrested in the earlier shooting, which left another man wounded.

He says his office also will investigate the wounding of a 12-year-old girl.