A key witness in the murder trial of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was fatally shot Friday in the parking lot of his apartment complex.

Joshua Brown was the neighbor of shooting victim Botham Jean when Jean was sitting in his unit in September 2018. Guyger walked inside and shot him to death. Brown lived directly across the hall.

Merritt, the attorney for Jean’s family, told CNN he spoke to Brown’s mother who confirmed his death. 

Dallas police responded to a call for a shooting at the Atera Apartments complex around 10:30 p.m. Friday.  A victim who was lying on the ground of the apartment parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds en route to Parkland Memorial Hospital, he died from his injuries.

Witnesses told police they heard several gunshots and saw a silver four-dour sedan speed out of the parking lot.

Merritt wrote in a Facebook post Saturday night that the medical examiner told him Brown was shot in the mouth and chest. 

“He was ambushed at his apartment complex as he got out of his car and shot at close range.”

Brown’s mother asked Merrit to

“do whatever it takes to get to the bottom” of her son’s murder.

Merritt wrote,

“She suspects foul play and it is difficult to rule it out. He had no known enemies. He worked for a living. He was not in the streets. We need answers. Immediately.”

At the time of his testimony, Brown said he lived in constant fear of gun violence and that’s why he was emotional on the witness stand during the trial. Merritt wrote,

“He said it could have been him.

Brown lived in constant fear that he could be the next victim of gun violence, either state sanctioned or otherwise.”

Brown testified that he met Jean the day he was killed. He said he was down the hall from his apartment when he heard the voices of two people who sounded like they were meeting by “surprise.” The gunshots followed “right after,” he said. Soon after, from his apartment balcony, Brown said he saw Guyger come out to the hallway from Jean’s apartment on the phone. She was

“crying, explaining what happened, what she thought happened, saying she came in to the wrong apartment.”

Through his peep hole, Brown said he also saw the former officer

“going back, back and forth on the phone. And then, I think she went back inside, then came back out.”

During testimony, Brown broke down and wiped away tears with his T-shirt. Jean’s family members could be heard crying. Guyger, 31, was found guilty of murder Wednesday and given a 10-year sentence and will be eligible for parole in five.

The ex-officer said she mistakenly walked into the wrong apartment in her complex and opened fire because she thought Jean was an intruder.

(Photo, screen grab; via CNN)