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Civilian dies, State of Emergency declared after shooting during Charlotte protest

Posted at 9:26 PM, Sep 21, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-22 20:19:16-04

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- One person was shot to death during the second night of protests in Charlotte after a fatal officer-involved shooting Tuesday.

The man shot outside Charlotte's Omni Hotel during Wednesday night's protests died on Thursday, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

The shooting victim was identified as Justin Carr, 26, from Charlotte.

Governor Pat McCrory has also issued a State of Emergency and initiated efforts to deploy the National Guard and Highway Patrol to assist local law enforcement in Charlotte.

The City of Charlotte said it was a civilian on civilian fatal shooting at first, and later corrected the information saying the civilian that was shot was on life support.

The protests stem from the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott.

Scott, a father of seven, was killed by police in an apartment complex parking lot as officers looked for another man named in a warrant they were trying to serve.

His family said Scott was unarmed and sitting in his car reading a book, waiting for his son to come home from school.

But Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Scott exited his car with a gun, not a book. He said officers couldn't find a book at the scene.

"It's time for the voiceless majority to stand up and be heard," said the police chief, who is black.

"It's time to change the narrative because I can tell you from the facts that the story's a little bit different as to how it's been portrayed so far, especially through social media."

Putney said evidence and witnesses support the officers' claim that Scott was armed.

Officers repeatedly told Scott to drop his handgun, the chief said, but he didn't. Officer Brentley Vinson then shot him.

The chief said he was not certain whether Scott pointed his gun at officers. Vinson, who was in plain clothes and wearing a CMPD vest, did not have a body camera. Three uniformed officers were wearing cameras and investigators are reviewing the footage.

Bottles, rocks and fires

Hundreds of protesters rallied overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning, chanting "black lives matter." Some threw rocks at police, set fires and blocked part of Interstate 85.

Others jumped on top of a police van and stomped on it, breaking the windshield and other windows.

Putney said 16 officers were injured in the protests.

At least seven people were hospitalized with minor injuries, WSOC reported. Five others were arrested.

The mayor and police chief implored the community to refrain from more violence.

And while community leaders also said they don't condone violence, B.J. Murphy of the Nation of Islam called for a different kind of protest.

"What we're calling for is an economic boycott of the whole city Charlotte," he said. "Since black lives do not matter for this city, then our black dollars shouldn't matter."

Protesters began demonstrating again Wednesday evening at police headquarters in Charlotte.

Related:

Charlotte police shooting: Scott had a gun, not a book, chief says

Charlotte police shoot and kill man, sparking protest which injured several officers

Charlotte police shooting: Protests turn ugly again