Police in Brooklyn Downtown, Minneapolis, fatally shot and killed a 20-year-old man during a traffic jam on Sunday afternoon, sparking a series of violent protests amid tensions over the Derek Chauvin murder trial.
The victim’s mother spent much of Sunday afternoon at the scene of the fatal shooting and pleaded with officers to remove the body of her son, Daunte Wright, from the sidewalk.
“He got out of the car, and his girlfriend said they shot him,” Katie Wright said Minneapolis Star Tribune. ‘He got in the car again, and he drove away and crashed and now he’s dead on the ground since 1:47 … Nobody will tell us anything. No one will talk to us … I told you to take my son off the ground. ‘
The victim’s mother said her son called her during the stop, saying it was related to the air fresheners hanging in the car, which is a Minnesota offense. “He called me around 1:30. He said he was being pulled over by police. And I said why you are deducted. And he said they pulled him down because he hung air fresheners on his rearview mirror. I said, ‘OK, take them off,’ ‘Wright said, adding that she could hear an argument erupting and someone shouting, “Daunte, do not run. “When she called back, her son was dead.
Police say they discovered during a name check that Wright had an outstanding arrest warrant. When they tried to arrest him, he returned to his car, where he was fatally shot. Police have not yet explained the motive for opening a shot whether Wright was suspected of being armed.
Demonstrations then erupted despite Wright’s family pleading for calm. By nightfall, police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and instant poles at about 500 protesters who had gathered near the Brooklyn Center headquarters and desecrated the signs. They tried to force a 6-hour curfew that was largely unsuccessful, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Many of the protesters withdrew to the nearby residential areas.
Around midnight, National Guard troops tried to secure the area when looters stormed a nearby Walmart store. Local media reported that many nearby businesses, including a Foot Locker and a New York clothing store, were damaged in the ensuing violence.
John Harrington, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, along with State Patrol and Hennepin County officials, said early Monday that the guard would remain robust for the next ‘two or three days’.
Wright’s mother asked for calm and told the crowd: ‘All the violence, if it continues, is just about the violence. We have to talk about why my son was shot for no reason. We need to make sure it’s about him and not about smashing police cars, because that’s not going to bring my son back. ”
By early morning, the protests had spread to southern Minneapolis and were getting stronger before the first light. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he was closely monitoring the incident and Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliot called on police not to use force against peaceful protesters.
“He was so stupid. He’s just making everyone happy, ‘Wright’s sister told Unicorn Riot, a citizen journalist. “They took my brother away from me. … I’m so hurt that they really just took him. … I still can not believe it. I still feel like I’m going home and going to see him. It really hurts. ”