The National Rifle Association issued a statement on Friday affirming its support for law-abiding Americans to carry firearms in the wake of the police shooting of Philando Castile.
The gun rights group called reports of Philando Castile being shot by Minnesota police during a traffic stop "troubling" in a statement released on its Facebook page.
"As the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization, the NRA proudly supports the right of law-abiding Americans to carry firearms for defense of themselves and others regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation," the post said. "The reports from Minnesota are troubling and must be thoroughly investigated. In the meantime, it is important for the NRA not to comment while the investigation is ongoing."
Castile was shot during a traffic stop involving a broken taillight on Wednesday. It remains unclear at this point how exactly the stop proceeded, but an officer shot and killed Castile as his girlfriend and her young daughter sat in his car. Castile’s family members told numerous media outlets he was licensed to carry a concealed firearm and was attempting to show officers his ID when he was shot.
"He let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm," Diamond Reynolds, Castile’s girlfriend said in a video of the immediate aftermath she streamed over Facebook.
"I told him not to reach for it," an officer can be heard saying in the video. "I told him to get his hand off it."
"You told him to get his ID, sir, and his drivers license," Reynolds responded.
The Second Amendment Foundation, another leading gun rights group, called for an independent investigation into the shooting.
"America’s 13 million citizens who are licensed to carry deserve to know exactly what happened and why," Alan Gottlieb, the group's founder, said in a statement on Thursday. "There are conflicting explanations, and only an independent investigation can hopefully reveal the truth."
The NRA said it would have further statements once more information is available on the situation.
"Rest assured, the NRA will have more to say once all the facts are known."