Police arrested Malik Bridgewater, 20, and two other suspects on theft and burglary charges after eight handguns were stolen from a pawn shop. The next day, Philando Castile was shot by police in Minnesota, prompting a wave of outrage towards police from the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, one which took a deadly turn.
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The 12-year-old boy arrested Friday was charged with simple burglary and theft of a firearm, the AP reported.
For the family, though, it was simply an opportunity to mourn their loved one’s death and say goodbye to him one last time before his body is put to rest.
Bridgewater told investigators his motivation was to sell stolen items for cash, an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wrote in an affidavit filed in federal court.
The crowd included friends, family, activists and two senior advisers to President Barack Obama.
Alton Sterling’s grief-stricken relatives broke down in tears as mourners walked past his open casket to pay their respects at his funeral in Louisiana today.
Sterling was selling CDs outside the store, as he had done for years, when he was killed by police responding to a call of a man threatening someone with a gun. Almost 150 protesters were arrested last weekend.
After demonstrations over the shooting death of Alton Sterling roiled Baton Rouge, leading to violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement and prompting almost 200 arrests, the local district attorney said he would not prosecute more than half of those who were detained.
The arrests came in the wake of the police-involved shooting death of Alton Sterling on July 5.
The owner of the convenience store where Alton Sterling was shot and killed says the black man was the “meaning of southern hospitality”.
Sterling’s death was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely on the internet. Civil Rights leaders Rev. Jesse Jackson & Rev. Al Sharpton, as well as a White House representative and several other notable political figures were also on hand for the somber homegoing service.
Funeral services are being held Friday for 37-year-old Alton Sterling, who died July 5 outside a Baton Rouge convenience store during an altercation with the officers. Police said the incident remains under investigation.
Those weapons weren’t recovered when that suspect, the 12-year-old, was caught, Baton Rouge police spokesman Sgt. Don Coppola Jr. told NBC News. The police were violently aggressive, and showed little restraint and poor judgment in terms of who they arrested.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Grieving residents of Baton Rouge honored an appeal at the funeral of a black man killed by police to celebrate his life rather than demonstrate about his death.
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A public viewing is set to begin at 8 a.m. CDT at Southern University in Baton Rouge followed by a funeral.
