During a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb on Sunday, a police officer shot and killed a black man, causing a clash between police and protesters several hours later.
The area is already on edge due to the ongoing trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.
Family members identified the victim as 20-year-old Daunte Wright. The incident occurred just before 2 p.m. when an officer pulled over a car for a suspected traffic violation. The driver re-entered the car as police tried to apprehend him, prompting one officer to open fire.
According to the police statement, the vehicle traveled several blocks before colliding with another vehicle. During the crash, a female passenger received non-life-threatening injuries, and a police officer was also taken to the hospital.
Wright’s mother, Katie, said, “I called and his girlfriend answered, who was the passenger in the car, and said that he’d been shot… and my son was laying there lifeless.”
After the incident hundreds of protestors marched to the Brooklyn Center police department on Sunday evening chanting Daunte Wright’s name. They were greeted by officers in riot gear who fired tear gas, flash bangs, and other munitions at the crowd. Even At 11 p.m. local time, clashes were still going on.
Brooklyn Center’s Mayor Elliott said the shooting was “tragic” and issued a city-wide curfew until 06:00 (11:00 GMT), telling people to “be safe, go home”.
“I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wright’s family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement,” Governor Tim Walz said in a statement posted on Sunday night.
Among the protesters outside Brooklyn Center Police Department, were some of Daunte Wright’s friends and relatives. Hundreds of demonstrators attempted to push their way forward, shouting, “If we don’t get justice, they don’t get peace.”
Some people knelt in front of the cops, hands on their heads. Others stood quietly, holding signs listing the names of African Americans killed by police.
It was an all-too-familiar sight for black of communities of America still recovering from the protests that erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s death in the summer of 2020.
