Police in a Minneapolis suburb say an officer fatally shot a driver Sunday, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement, CBS Minnesota reported. The death of the man, identified by the family as Daunte Wright, and subsequent unrest came amid the Derek Chauvin trial for the murder of George Floyd.
According to police, officers in the Brooklyn city center pulled out an outstanding warrant just before 2 p.m., a driver they identified. Police said when they tried to arrest him, he got back into his vehicle and drove away. An officer shot at the vehicle and hit the driver. Police said the vehicle traveled several blocks before hitting another one. No one in that second vehicle was injured.
The driver of the first vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said officers apparently wore activated body cameras during the shooting.
A crowd began to gather at the crash scene later in the afternoon. Just after 6 p.m., protesters took down the crime scene while the crowd and the victim’s family demanded answers from law enforcement.
A woman who said she was the mother of the driver, Katie Wright, told the crowd her son – 20-year-old Daunte Wright – was the man who was shot. According to her, Wright’s girlfriend was with him in the car during the stop. Police said the woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash and was taken to a hospital.
Authorities said the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office would release the name of the man who was killed after a preliminary autopsy and notice to his family.
Protesters later gathered at Brooklyn headquarters in Brooklyn City Center. According to CBS Minnesota reporters at the scene, law enforcement officers formed a human chain to protect the building and began using flashlights and tear gas.
Katie Wright / CBS Minnesota