Serving a warrant went bad in Charlotte, North Carolina last night leaving 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott dead, shot by police. It also spurred protests that turned into a riot according to multiple news sources.
The officer involved was white, and the person killed was black. Protests soon broke out over the shooting and morphed into violence that continued into early Wednesday morning. CNN reported that the protesters were carrying signs reading “no justice, no peace” and “Black Lives Matter.” Fox News reported that dozens of protesters on Interstate 85 were “looting semi-trucks and setting their contents on fire on the highway.”
The officers were at Scott’s apartment complex to serve a warrant. Police say they saw Scott in a vehicle, armed with a gun, and judged him to be a potential threat. NPR reported that a police spokesman advised that a firearm was recovered at the scene. Scott’s family claims that’s not true:
“The daughter of Keith Lamont Scott says that her father did not have a gun, that he was not armed, and that he was sitting in the car reading a book waiting on his son to get off a bus from school,” she says.
The officer involved in the shooting was Brently Vinson, a two-year veteran of the force, who is now on administrative leave while the investigation is in progress.
CNN claims that the violence began when some of the protesters began throwing rocks and bottles at police, with Fox reporting that at least twelve officers were injured during the riot.
More as it unfolds.