Late Wednesday night, N.C. Governor Pat McCrory declared a State of Emergency after it was requested by the Charlotte police chief, officials said.
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While city officials initially said that a civilian had been fatally shot, they later corrected their statement to say the victim was in critical condition on life support.
Paramedics said two other people and six police officers suffered minor injuries.
North Carolina governor decreed a state of emergency after the second night of protests in the city of Charlotte, which started after a black man was shot dead by the police, Reuters reports online.
The fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparked violent protests and fires in Charlotte.
After approaching Scott in his auto, officers told him to drop his handgun but he did not follow the orders, Police Chief Kerr Putney said, adding that black officer Brentley Vinson later shot Scott. Scott’s family says the father of seven had a book in his hand.
Video footage of the shooting is being reviewed, authorities say.
After a night of rioting over the death of Keith Lamont Scott, who was killed by Police Officer Brentley Vinson, the Charlotte Hornets team store was heavily looted. Police say Scott disregarded repeated demands to drop his gun, while neighbourhood residents say he was holding a book, not a weapon, as he waited for his son to get off the school bus. “They engage him, and one of the officers felt a lethal threat and fired his weapon because of that”, he said.
“I did not see that in the videos that I reviewed”, Putney said at a news conference today. “If you give the black man justice in accordance with the laws of the land, they’ll be no need for this”.
The police have yet to release the video of the event.
Vinson, the officer, is on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
“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”. Hundreds of protesters faced off against police in riot gear, some even threw fireworks.
Peaceful protests broke out into violence overnight, subsiding around 3 a.m. Putney said during those protests, a total of 44 people were arrested and hit with charges from breaking and entering to failure to disperse.
When a reporter pointed out that Putney had previously promised full transparency in the investigation of Scott’s death, the police chief corrected him.
A woman who identified herself as Scott’s daughter began a Facebook Live from the scene, recording the community confronting police after the incident. Others approached the officers’ face masks, saying, “Why do you keep killing us?”
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A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was treated and released after he was injured by shattered glass from his patrol auto during a violent protest in uptown Charlotte Wednesday night.
