The officers and responding paramedics made life-saving efforts, but the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
A female passenger in the vehicle was injured in the crash and was taken to North Memorial Health Hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The occupants of the other vehicle were unharmed.
Katie Wright, the mother of the driver who was shot, identified her son as Daunte Wright. She also said the passenger in the car was his girlfriend.
The mother told reporters she was on the phone with her son the moments before he was shot.
“I heard scurrying, and I heard the police officers say, ‘Daunte, don’t run,’ and then the other officer said, ‘Put down the phone,’ and hang it up, ‘” Katie Wright said. “And a moment later I called and his girlfriend answered – it was the passenger – and said he had been shot, and she put it on the driver’s side and my son lay there lifeless.”
Brooklyn Downtown police said they believe body-worn cameras and dash cameras were activated during the incident.
Members of the community began to gather near the site to protest, holding the boards of Black Lives Matter, playing music and chanting police.
A group of law enforcers in tactical equipment was seen facing protesters on the other side of the crime scene.
KSTP reporter Ben Henry described the escalating tension at the scene as police approached the crowd in riots.
Some people have crossed over to the police – this is not normal – much more law enforcement in tactical equipment.
Nothing happened – it’s peaceful, but tensions are high. pic.twitter.com/x1Gna3hWRu
– Ben Henry (@BenryNews) 11 April 2021
Around 7:15 p.m., protesters at the scene began jumping on a group car, and some threw concrete blocks. Police in riot when the crowd started progressing to maintain order. The mother of the victim climbed on a speaker and asked people to calm down.
It was taken at 7:15
Police sports utility vehicles were damaged – one threw a concrete block to smash windows, others stepped on the roof.Police moved in to try and maintain order.
The mother of the shooter climbed on a speaker and asked everyone to stop the violence. pic.twitter.com/RAbMxaSSel
– Ben Henry (@BenryNews) 12 April 2021
After marshals formed a rope in front of the protest, police eventually returned from the protesters, got into their vehicles and drove away, according to the social media reports of the scene.
At around 20:00, protesters gathered again at 63rd Avenue and Leelaan. Activists gave speeches and led the crowd in singing and chanting as they gathered around a temporary memorial of chalk art and candles.
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting “tragic” on Twitter, urging protesters to remain peaceful and asking police not to use force.
The officer who was shot in Brooklyn Center today is tragic. We ask the protesters to continue to be peaceful and that peaceful protesters are not treated with violence.
– Mayor Mike Elliott (@mayor_elliott) 12 April 2021
Around 9 p.m., the crowd of protesters began making their way to Brooklyn Center headquarters, according to social media reports. From aerial material it appears that the police form a perimeter around the building.
Just after 9:30 p.m., officers declared the protest outside the police station an illegal meeting and gave them a ten-minute warning to clean up.
This is a crucial news report. Stay tuned to KSTP while we work to get more details.