CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA — Riots hit Charlotte on Wednesday after a black man who cops claim was armed was killed by police a day earlier.
Keith Lamont Scott was shot to death by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Brentley Vinson, WCCB Charlotte reported, citing local police.
Police were investigating an apartment complex and looking to serve a warrant on Tuesday afternoon. The warrant wasn’t for Scott, but another suspect.
Police said officers saw Scott sitting in his car, before exiting the vehicle armed with a gun, then getting back inside.
Scott’s family said he was actually holding a book.
As they approached the car, police allege that Scott got out and “posed an imminent deadly threat to the officers”. The cops then opened fire and shot Scott dead.
A man claiming to be Scott’s brother said in a video posted to Twitter that Scott was reading in his car when the shooting took place. He explained that undercover cops got out of a truck and yelled “Gun!”, then shot Scott to death.
As news of the shooting spread, protests, robbing, looting and riots broke out across the city. Protesters reportedly chanted “Black Lives Matter”, citing police discrimination against black people.
At least four cops were injured and a civilian was shot in the head, WCCB Charlotte reported. Officials said that person is in critical condition in the hospital.
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory was forced to declare a State of Emergency in Charlotte and deploy the National Guard to the city.
