During a demonstration following George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer, a man drove into the crowd and shot one of the protesters.
The shocking incident occurred in Seattle on Sunday, June 7, as NBC News reveals.
Seattle Police Department reported that the victim, a 27-year-old man, was taken to the hospital by firefighters. The suspect was detained.
Suspect in custody, gun recovered after man drove vehicle into crowd at 11th and Pine. Seattle Fire transported victim to hospital. Officers searched, but do not believe there are any additional victims. Will provide updates when available.
— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) June 8, 2020
Furthermore, police confirmed they found a gun, and no one else was injured amid the encounter.
In footage shared on Twitter, a man can be seen emerging from a vehicle that appears to have struck a barricade at an intersection. The man appears to be holding a gun on one of his hands as he runs through the crowd.
After the suspect rushes into the crowd of protesters, a sound of gunshots can be heard.
https://twitter.com/chaseburnsy/status/1269833325440462848
According to one of the onlookers at the incident, the victim allegedly tried to stop the car from driving into the demonstrators before the driver shot him.
After the encounter, the police tried to disperse the protesters. The department reported that some of the people participating have hurled projectiles and fireworks at officers.
The officers are taking heavy projectiles, coming from the crowd. A male, armed with a gun is in the intersection of 11th and Pine ST. CS gas has been authorized. In the interest of public and life safety, leave the area now.
— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) June 8, 2020
The officers were responding to the rioters’ attacks with pepper spray, blast balls, and tear gas.
The Seattle incident followed tense protests on Saturday when authorities had to use flash-bang devices and pepper spray to disperse violent rioters. According to the mayor and police chief, they were trying to stop tensions amid the protests.
Over the weekend, there were many demonstrations against police brutality and racism across the US, after George Floyd, a black man, was brutally killed by a white police officer on May 25. Most of the protests were peaceful, while some escalated and quickly turned into mass violence. Tracking by the Associated Press shows that at least 10,000 people have been arrested in relation to the protests after many of them included arsons, assaults, and looting.
