In the span of four days, the United States has had to come to terms with the deaths of two black men at the hands of police. In Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee, authorities said gun-wielding civilians also shot officers in individual attacks that came after Black men were killed in Louisiana and Minnesota. Here’s what we know about each of deadly shootings.
Alton Sterling, 37, was shot and killed outside the store by Baton Rouge police, where he was selling CDs. Tawandra Carr, who said she was best friends with Sterling, is comforted as people gather outside the Triple S convenience store in Baton Rouge on Wednesday.
A group of protesters demonstrate near a prayer vigil in memory of Alton Sterling. Police said Sterling, who was a convicted felon and barred from legally carrying a gun, was armed and an eyewitness said he had a gun in his pocket.
Baton Rouge Police and Louisiana State Police work to clear Airline Highway after protestors blocked traffic at Goodwood Boulevard, at Baton Rouge Police headquarters. Both officers were placed on administrative leave and had prior “use of force” complaints.
Philando Castile, a black 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a public school, was shot on Wednesday night in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, during a traffic stop that involved two officers. He died a short time later at a hospital. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, says he was shot while reaching for his wallet.
Diamond Reynolds, Castile’s girlfriend, began livestreaming on Facebook from the vehicle shortly after Castile had been shot. She describes being pulled over for a “busted tail light”. The officers involved, Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser, both had been with the St. Anthony Police Department for four years and were put on administrative leave. Yanez fired the shots. Their races are not known, though Reynolds described the officer who shot Castile as Asian.
An Army veteran fatally shot five police officers and wounded six other officers during Thursday night’s downtown protest over the deaths of Sterling and Castile. Two civilians were also injured. Photo shows a broken glass in a bus stop near the shooting scene.
Authorities are investigating the shootings. Officials said Johnson amassed a personal arsenal at his suburban home, including bomb-making materials, bulletproof vests, rifles, ammunition and a journal of combat tactics.
