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Regular-article-logo Thursday, 26 December 2024

US cop shoots black man, protests break out

The victim, identified as 29-year-old Jacob Blake, was taken to a hospital in serious condition after the shooting late Sunday afternoon

Reuters Washington Published 25.08.20, 01:36 AM
Volunteers sweep up debris as police in riot gear stand outside the Kenosha County Court House Monday, August 24, 2020.

Volunteers sweep up debris as police in riot gear stand outside the Kenosha County Court House Monday, August 24, 2020. AP

A police officer shot a black man in the back multiple times in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday, a bystander's video appeared to show, prompting a night of unrest during which protesters hurled firebombs at law enforcement officers.

The victim, identified as 29-year-old Jacob Blake, was taken to a hospital in serious condition after the shooting late Sunday afternoon.

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Crowds gathered at the scene, set fires and threw bricks and Molotov cocktails at police, prompting authorities to impose a curfew. On Monday morning Kenosha county announced on Twitter that its courthouse and administration building would be closed due to damage caused during the previous night’s unrest.

A video circulating widely on social media showed Blake walking towards a car followed by two officers and one of them shooting him as he opens the car door.

The incident followed nationwide protests this summer over the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes.

“Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight,” Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, said in a statement.

“While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.”

Social media posts showed crowds marching down streets of Kenosha, a city of around 100,000 people on Lake Michigan about 65 miles (100 km) north of Chicago.

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