It was the latest incident in a night of violence in Charlotte’s normally vibrant downtown. “Any violence directed toward our citizens or police officers or destruction of property should not be tolerated”.
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There also were destructive protests Tuesday. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency in Charlotte late Wednesday night as protests over the police shooting of a black man turned violent for a second night.
Flash bangs and tear gas were released into the area.
Police and protesters carry a seriously wounded protester into the parking area of the the Omni Hotel during a march to protest the death of Keith Scott. Police say he had a handgun, not a book.
Newton continued, “From being a black person, there is a lot of black people that don’t do right by black people, so you can’t be a hypocrite and just say ‘Oh a white man or a white police officer killed a black man.’ Now that’s still messed up and I’m not sitting up here and saying that’s ok …” The City of Charlotte later retracted its statement.
The man was shot as police in riot gear protected an upscale hotel in downtown Charlotte. They said Scott had a gun and threatened the officers. They then fired tear gas at the hundreds of protesters, dispersing most of the crowd.
“We are exhausted of people, especially police, killing our black men”, Blanche Penn, a longtime community activist, said at yesterday evening’s rally, where the mood had begun as resolute but peaceful.
Family members said Scott was unarmed, but Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police confirmed that Scott did have a gun on him. But the chief said he can not release the video because the investigation is still underway.
Scott was taken to Carolinas Medical Center with life-threatening injuries where he later passed away.
Charlotte Medic tweeted that the person was injured Wednesday night but didn’t give details.
“He stepped out, posing a threat to the officers, and Officer Brentley Vinson subsequently fired his weapon, striking the subject”, Putney said, adding that police acted heroically in trying to stem the protests that followed the shooting.
Chaos during the protests reportedly spread as protesters were hit with rubber bullets and tear gas by police, bottles were thrown and firecrackers were set off. Two employees at the Hyatt House on the 400 block of East Trade Street were also injured.
Firefighters rushed in to pull the man to a waiting ambulance.
The City of Charlotte first tweeted out that the shooting was fatal and that it was civilian on civilian.
One group of students came from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, about 80 miles away.
Other photos showed the dramatic scene in Charlotte.
Speakers using a bullhorn questioned why police shot Scott. People prayed and held candles, and flowers were placed beneath a table.
“I want to assure the people of North Carolina that our SBI has already been assisting the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department throughout the last 24 hours”. A few windows in at least one store were broken and one had “black lives matters” spray-painted on it.
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Police blocked off streets, and some protesters yelled and pointed at them, but officers did not react.
