One person is in critical condition on life support after being shot Wednesday night as protests in Charlotte, N.C. became violent the day after city police fatally shot an African-American man.
A large crowd of demonstrators gathered in downtown Charlotte to protest police in riot gear outside an Omni Hotel. Some protesters reportedly rushed police officers and threw various objects at them. Police fired tear gas and flash bangs at the crowd in an attempt to get people to disperse.
More scenes from a tense moment during protests in Charlotte, North Carolina https://t.co/NAyjpZJZ8H https://t.co/hgao0uTFC1
— CNN (@CNN) September 22, 2016
At one point a shot was fired, leading the chief of the Charlotte Police Department to say that one person had died in the protests. Confusion led reporters to believe that the individual was initially wounded by a flash bang.
BREAKING: Sources tell me this man was hit with a bullet, not a flash bang. pic.twitter.com/jviyeVPbBr
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) September 22, 2016
The Charlotte Police Department confirmed that the individual who was hit was not shot by police, but by another civilian.
ALERT: Fatal shot uptown was civilian on civilian. @CMPD did not fire shot.
— City of Charlotte (@CLTgov) September 22, 2016
.@thedailybeast Ryan James reports Charlotte gunman is civilian, he saw the barrel of the gun
— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) September 22, 2016
The city of Charlotte later clarified that the shot individual was still alive but on life support and in critical condition.
CORRECTION UPDATE: Civilian who suffered gunshot wound during protests is on life support, critical condition. Not deceased.
— City of Charlotte (@CLTgov) September 22, 2016
During the chaos, looters smashed into a souvenir store.
Steve Harrigan: "Looting is going on. A souvenir store, the front door has been smashed." #KellyFile pic.twitter.com/MhF9Ji8Php
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 22, 2016
At one point, a CNN reporter was knocked to the ground by a protester live on air.
.@edlavaCNN attacked during a live hit covering protesters in Charlotte, NC. pic.twitter.com/DXrDl8ZuHd
— POLITICO Video (@POLITICOvideo) September 22, 2016
Demonstrators had gathered to protest Tuesday’s police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, an African-American father of seven. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Scott had a gun, citing witnesses. Scott’s family maintains he was unarmed and sitting in a car in an apartment complex parking lot.