Scott’s wife, Rakeiya Scott, released a statement Wednesday night questioned statements put forward by law enforcement officials.
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Detectives were interviewing witnesses, police said. People could be seen running away from the scene.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – (WNCT) One person is on life support, in critical condition, after they were shot Wednesday night during violent protests in downtown Charlotte.
After the shooting, protesters began throwing bottles, dirt clods and fireworks at the officers.
The injured protester, who has not been identified, was initially reported to be dead by Charlotte’s police chief Kerr Putney.
But not all the marchers left.
Protesters have rushed police in riot gear at a downtown Charlotte hotel and officers have fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Police dashcam and body camera footage is being reviewed by investigators but has yet to be released to the public amid the conflicting accounts.
He was shot by an black police officer after refusing repeated demands to put down a gun, which was recovered from the scene, Putney said. “We’ve been very patient, but now they’ve become very violent”.
However, posts on social media reported that Scott was unarmed and disabled, and family members say he was holding a book and waiting to pick up his son from school.
“Right now we are standing on the facts”.
He said the officers told Scott, who was black, to drop his gun and that he got out of the vehicle a second time still carrying the gun.
Witnesses at the scene, including Scott’s daughter and siblings, said the 43-year-old father of seven was reading a book in his auto. “I can tell you we did not find a book”, the chief said.
With the tear gas faded and the mass of humanity finally off the streets of uptown Charlotte on Thursday morning, city and law enforcement officials are surveying the damage after a second night of furious protests over the Keith Lamont Scott case.
Charlotte’s police chief said on Wednesday that officers gave a man numerous clear warnings to drop a handgun before fatally shooting him, at a news conference following a night of clashes on the streets of the North Carolina city that left 16 officers injured. We know that this is not who Charlotte is. The organization called on city officials to be fully transparent with any video or information that could bring light to the Scott shooting.
Protesters began demonstrating again Wednesday evening at police headquarters in Charlotte.
The tense standoff continued as police fired small canisters of tear gas into the protesters.
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The local NBC affiliate reports that at least 7 CMPD officers have been taken to hospitals for injuries.
