State of Emergency declared in Charlotte,North Carolina
*.A man was shot by a civilian as protests turned violent once again in Charlotte, NorthCarolina Officials said he wasn't wounded bya police officer as unrest continuedafter fatal shooting of black man*.
Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was shot bya black police officer in the city on Tuesday afternoon*.
Charlotte's police chief said Scott refused multiple warnings to drop ahandgun before he was fatally shot*.But Scott's daughter posted a videoto Facebook after the shooting, saying her father had a disability and was reading a book, not brandishing a weapon*.
Tuesday's protest left a dozen police officers injured as protestersthrew rocks and damaged police cars
National Guard troops have arrived in Charlotte after a protest turned violent on Wednesday night.A state of emergency has been declared in response to the chaos that has taken over the North Carolina city, two days after a father-of-seven was shot dead by a police officer.One of the demonstrators was shot in the head outside the Omni Hotel and is fighting for his life. Two other protesters and four police officers were also taken to area hospitals after they were injured in the riot.A cameraman and reporter for WCNC-TV were also attacked while aCNN correspondent was body-slammed during a live broadcast.It was the second night of unrest following the deadly shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by black cop, Brentley Vinson, on Tuesday afternoon. Police insist he was armed, but family members maintainhe was only reading a book when he was gunned down next to his car.On Thursday morning, hotel and restaurant employees and security guards started cleaning up dozens of broken windows after protesters smashed buildings and painted the slogan 'Black Lives Matter' on walls.Demonstrators were also seen looting a convenience store after smashing its windows and a shop that sells merchandise for the NBA franchise, the Charlotte Hornets . Others set fire to trash can
Some protesters expressed anger at the lawlessness exhibited by fellow demonstrators. One woman was heard shouting, 'Stop - that's not what this is about,' as young men broke bottles in the street.Bank of America told its thousands of employees at its 60-story downtown skyscraper to stay home Thursday.North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said he has declared a stateof emergency and is sending in the National Guard and Highway Patrol to assist local law enforcement in the city.'I want to assure the people of North Carolina that our SBI [State Bureau of Investigation] has already been assisting the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department throughout the last 24 hours,' he said in a statementon Facebook.'Upon a very recent request of Chief Putney, the State Highway Patrol is sending in troopers to further help the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.'
He added: 'Any violence directed toward our citizens or police officersor destruction of property should notbe tolerated. I support and commendthe law enforcement officials for their bravery and courage during thisdifficult situation.'Ryan James, who was at the protest said he saw a civilian fire a pistol 'indiscriminately' outside the Omni Hotel before fleeing.'There was a loud pop, then panic and confusion. Standing about 10 yards away, I looked down the barrel of a pistol,' he wrote in a first-person piece forThe Daily Beast.James said the shooter was a black male and that he stood at the intersection of East Trade and South College streets with the weapon still aimed before running away.After the shooting of the protester, demonstrators began throwing bottles, dirt clods and fireworks at the officers. The police fired flash grenades and then tear gas back, dispersing the crowd of several hundred.Protesters responded by hurling trash cans and potted plants
But groups of protesters kept marching around downtown, followed by police in riot gear who continued to fire tear gas at them.'It seemed to me the shot came fromwithin the crowd,' said one man who was just three feet from where the dreadlocked man fell.'He fell face down. Then people crowded around him. Then, after a few seconds they were pushed back and a firefighter and another man lifted him up and carried him into thelobby of the Omni.''It's come to this. We had a nice march, but a few people came here to make trouble,' protester Tongie Antunes told DailyMail.com. 'It makes all African Americans look bad.'But activist James Tyson, who gave aid to the shot protester, questioned the police version of events saying he saw no evidence of gunshots from the crowd.
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