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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Nicky Woolf in San Francisco (earlier) and Martin Farrer

Keith Scott protests: civilian in North Carolina shooting 'critical' but not dead – as it happened

Police clash with protesters in Charlotte, North Carolina, during another night of unrest.
Police clash with protesters in Charlotte, North Carolina, during another night of unrest. Photograph: Jason Miczek/Reuters

This is where things stand

  • One person is in critical condition as the second night of protests in Charlotte, North Carolina turned violent
  • Charlotte’s police chief said on Fox News that the person, who was said to have been shot in a “civilian on civilian” incident, was dead. City officials later said that was inaccurate.
  • North Carolina governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency and deployed the highway patrol and the national guard
  • A crowd gathered in the afternoon for a vigil protesting the death on Tuesday at police hands of Keith Scott
  • Later in the evening a smaller group remained, throwing rocks at police and smashing windows
  • Police deployed tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd
  • Several journalists were also attacked, including a CNN correspondent who was tackled live on air

Ok, that’s about it from us tonight. Our reporter on the ground, Matt Teague, has just filed a report on the night’s developments which you can read here.

The North Carolina NAACP has released a statement condemning the violence but calling on the authorities in Charlotte to release video of the “tragic” Keith Scott incident as quickly as possible.

Our southern-based reporter, Matt Teague, is in Charlotte and has filed a full news story on the night’s developments.

He describes how the protests erupted into violence when a protester was shot and crowds used flowerpots as missiles against the police, the “dirt from the pots mixed with the wounded protester’s blood on the sidewalk, trampled by the opposing ranks of police and protesters”.

He also describes the ebb and flow as the demonstrators vied with police for control of the streets:

Protesters lost and regained and then lost territory again into the night, and eventually started flinging wine bottles and at least one Moltov cocktail at the lines of police. Once protesters threw bottles police started firing orange plastic bullets filled with white powder. The shots – which made the sound of automatic gunfire – scattered crowds before they gradually reformed.

Read his full dispatch here:

President Barack Obama spoke by telephone on Wednesday with the mayors of Charlotte and Tulsa, a White House official said.

Our video team has produced some visual of the night’s protests.

Charlotte protesters describe shooting of man during demonstration – video

Updated

Richard Sherman, the Seattle Seahawks footballer, has used a press conference today to raise the issue of the NFL anthem protests against police violence. He said people were still missing the point about the kneeling protests and that incidents in Tulsa and Charlotte showed why they were needed.

Sherman said:

The reason these guys are kneeling, the reason we’re locking arms is to bring people together to make people aware that this is not right. It’s not right for people to get killed in the street.

Here’s a video of what he said:

Things appear to be calming down in uptown Charlotte.

This has been a slightly chaotic night for communications for the city of Charlotte, as at times the right hand has appeared to act without consulting the left hand.

First, the police chief announced the death of someone at the protest in “civilian on civilian” violence, but that had to be retracted after it turned out to be inaccurate.

Then, Jennifer Roberts, the mayor of Charlotte, reportedly told CNN that she plans to view the dash-cam video from the shooting of Keith Scott on Thursday and then release it to the public.

But this was immediately publicly contradicted contradicted by the Twitter account for the City, who said that while Roberts will view the video, it will not be released to the public:

A few protesters are currently on I-277, WBTV is reporting.

Earlier, Rakeyia Scott, wife of Keith Scott, whose death at the hands of police sparked the past two nights of protest, put out a statement.

“As a family, we respect the rights of those who wish to protest, but we ask that people protest peacefully,” she said.

The statement in full:

An update about the two journalists hospitalized in tonight’s protests in Charlotte:

Fox is officially withdrawing its crews from uptown Charlotte, the area that has seen protests turn violent this evening, following other news organizations including the local NBC affiliate and Charlotte Magazine.

More from the Guardian’s Matthew Teague, on the ground in Charlotte:

State of emergency declared in North Carolina

The governor of North Carolina, Pat McCrory, has declared a state of emergency and deployed the national guard to Charlotte.

Some snapshots from Matthew Teague, on the ground in Charlotte.

The Guardian’s Matt Teague is on the scene:

Police have divided the intersection where the shooting happened --- Trade and College -- into quadrants, and are slowly pushing protesters back with tear gas.

The situation is see-sawing between uneasy calm and frantic activity, as police continue to fire tear gas into groups of protesters.

Updated

The night continues to be dangerous for reporters.

The information that the person shot earlier had died came from the Charlotte-Mecklenberg police chief Kerr Putney.

“Our police chief had gone and said it - [but] the information that were getting right now is the injuries were not fatal,” a city official just told the Guardian.

Asked where the incorrect information that the police chief said, the city official said “we’re trying to figure that out right now. Obviously its a fluid situation with a lot of information [coming in] at one time.”

Correction - civilian shot earlier is not dead

The city has just corrected their earlier announcement that the person shot at the protest had died.

North Carolina governor Pat McCrory has just issued the following statement on the events in Charlotte, saying that State Highway Patrol officers are en route to Charlotte to assist the city police department:

I want to assure the people of North Carolina that our SBI has already been assisting the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department throughout the last 24 hours.

Upon a very recent request of Chief Putney, the State Highway Patrol is sending in troopers to further help the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.

The state has many additional assets nearby to assist.

Any violence directed toward our citizens or police officers or destruction of property should not be tolerated.

I support and commend the law enforcement officials for their bravery and courage during this difficult situation.

Several local publications, including Charlotte Magazine and WCNC, have pulled their reporters out of uptown, where the clashes are taking place.

CNN’s Ed Lavandera was tackled by a protester live on air:

And WCNC, NBC’s Charlotte affiliate, had a window smashed on their news van:

The public defender who was putting himself between protesters and police in Charlotte has just talked to CNN, saying he wants to make sure people stay safe.

His name is Toussaint Romain, and his most recent tweet, from back in March, is:

He is already becoming something of a hero on social media:

Updated

Fox News have delayed a planned town hall with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump due to tonight’s events in Charlotte.

In the town hall, which was pre-taped with Fox’s Sean Hannity and will be aired later in the week, Trump calls for stop and frisk - a method of policing which was found by a federal judge to disproportionately target African-American and Latino neighborhoods in 2013.

The Charlotte Hornets’ team store has been looted.

Some different angles of the police deployment of tear gas from around 45 minutes ago:

Eyewitnesses on the ground describe strange, surreal scenes as the situation unfolds in Charlotte this evening.

Some more pictures of Charlotte, where police and protesters are facing off:

One police officer has been transported for treatment for injuries this evening, according to the Charlotte city government.

Police telling the crowd to disburse over a loudspeaker; crowd refusing to do so. CNN reporting 100-150 protesters there right now.

Amazing footage on CNN right now of a man in a white shirt and tie standing between police and the crowd. Violence intensified, he walked into the middle, and pushed the two lines away.

CNN is reporting that he is “a public defender” who is trying to help the situation.

You can see him in this picture:

Updated

City confirms fatality was "civilian on civilian"

This is the substance of police chief Kerr Putney’s confirmation about the death at tonight’s protest:

The person shot during today’s protest today has died

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief Kerr Putney has just told Fox News that the person taken to hospital with “life-threatening injuries” earlier today has died.

The situation surrounding the person’s death, as well as their identity, is still unclear.

Police are currently deploying tear gas against protesters in Charlotte, according to reports.

One person shot, city official confirms

No more details are currently known, but a city official just confirmed to the Guardian that one person has been shot.

“Social media reports that more than one person has been shot are incorrect,” the official added.

The Twitter account for Charlotte-Mecklenberg tweeted:

Protests are intensifying for the second night in Charlotte, North Carolina after the fatal shooting on Tuesday of a black man, Keith Scott, after a police officer mistook him for a wanted man.

Police deployed tear gas on Tuesday night to disperse crowds which had gathered to protest Scott’s death.

The Guardian’s Matthew Teague is in Charlotte, and we will bring you more details as they come.

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