He and his best friend Akeem Baker had conversations about it, but never discussed feeling as if their lives were at risk.
“We weren’t just out here in Brunswick living in fear," Baker said. "We just understood that everything wasn’t all love everywhere we went.”
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Cooper-Jones said Arbery wanted to become an electrician, following the footsteps of three of his uncles.
He attended South Georgia Technical College for about a year and a half but stopped when money got tight for the family, Cooper-Jones said. She said she was also putting her other son and daughter through school at the time.
Before his death, Arbery was planning to go back to school and get his electrician certification, she said.
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“He was just a really humble guy," she said. "Ahmaud was a good kid.”
She recalled him helping out around the house, whether moving heavy furniture or offering to fix electrical outlets.
Baker remembers Arbery was his "hype man" who would give Baker a playful nudge to freestyle rap lyrics or do high intensity workouts in the gym.
"He was just a real genuine person," said Baker, who grew up in the same apartment complex as Arbery. "He spoke and did everything from a place of love."
Ahmaud Arbery shooting: Mother, friend describe 'humble' 'hype man'
