CHARLOTTE, N.C. — At least one person has been shot during the second night of protests in Charlotte after a fatal officer-involved shooting Tuesday.
WSOC reported at 8:40 p.m. that a security expert confirmed at least one person was shot and medical personnel are on the scene. The person’s condition and circumstances are unclear.
Multiple other media outlets are citing Mecklenburg EMS confirmation of the shooting.
The protests stem from the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott.
Scott, a father of seven, was killed by police in an apartment complex parking lot as officers looked for another man named in a warrant they were trying to serve.
His family said Scott was unarmed and sitting in his car reading a book, waiting for his son to come home from school.
But Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Scott exited his car with a gun, not a book. He said officers couldn’t find a book at the scene.
“It’s time for the voiceless majority to stand up and be heard,” said the police chief, who is black.
“It’s time to change the narrative because I can tell you from the facts that the story’s a little bit different as to how it’s been portrayed so far, especially through social media.”
Putney said evidence and witnesses support the officers’ claim that Scott was armed.
Officers repeatedly told Scott to drop his handgun, the chief said, but he didn’t. Officer Brentley Vinson then shot him.
The chief said he was not certain whether Scott pointed his gun at officers. Vinson, who was in plain clothes and wearing a CMPD vest, did not have a body camera. Three uniformed officers were wearing cameras and investigators are reviewing the footage.
Bottles, rocks and fires
Hundreds of protesters rallied overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning, chanting “black lives matter.” Some threw rocks at police, set fires and blocked part of Interstate 85.
Others jumped on top of a police van and stomped on it, breaking the windshield and other windows.
Putney said 16 officers were injured in the protests.
At least seven people were hospitalized with minor injuries, WSOC reported. Five others were arrested.
The mayor and police chief implored the community to refrain from more violence.
And while community leaders also said they don’t condone violence, B.J. Murphy of the Nation of Islam called for a different kind of protest.
“What we’re calling for is an economic boycott of the whole city Charlotte,” he said. “Since black lives do not matter for this city, then our black dollars shouldn’t matter.”
Protesters began demonstrating again Wednesday evening at police headquarters in Charlotte.