MINNEAPOLIS — Protests continued Friday night over Thursday's fatal shooting of a 32-year-old man by law enforcement in Minneapolis' Uptown area.
Activists blocked traffic at busy Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street during the Friday evening rush hour. And some Uptown businesses closed early Friday for fear that the vandalism and looting that occurred overnight Thursday might be repeated.
The man, identified by friends and family Friday as Winston Boogie Smith, was wanted for possession of a firearm by a felon, according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals Service. He was fatally shot at an Uptown parking ramp.
On Friday evening, Smith's family members gathered at the headquarters of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul to demand information and accountability for his death. They demanded the release of any footage of the shooting, although the Marshals Service has said it does not use body cameras.
Jaylani Hussein of CAIR-MN told those gathered that people will continue to "hit the streets" until there is justice in the case.
Late Thursday and early Friday, protesters gathered near the scene of the shooting atop a parking ramp at West Lake Street and South Fremont Avenue. Others took to the streets and were involved in property damage, Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender said in a statement.
The shooting by Hennepin County sheriff's deputies occurred as authorities pursued a murder suspect, sources said. Minneapolis police were not involved.
Police spokesman John Elder said nine people were arrested on charges that included property damage, riot, obstruction and assault. Elder said that tear gas and marking rounds were not used. However, footage from the independent news outlet Unicorn Riot showed officers using flash-bangs to disperse crowds.
A CVS pharmacy on Lake Street had windows smashed in and products strewn about, but no employees were hurt, according to a company spokeswoman. The store was expected to reopen Saturday following repairs, she said.
Some trash cans were set on fire and at least one light pole near Urban Outfitters was damaged. Public Works crews had arrived by 6 a.m. to start cleaning debris left behind, Bender said.
The Tires Plus at 1103 Lake St. also had a broken window. Ryan Webber, who works at the shop, said he saw pockets of damage "here and there" but nothing widespread.
The tense situation unfolded as law enforcement closed in on Smith, suspected of being a felon in possession of a gun. The suspect, who was in a parked car, "failed to comply and produced a handgun, resulting in task force members firing upon the subject," the Marshals Service said in its statement.
Medics declared Smith dead at the scene. A woman in the car was injured by shattered glass.
The Marshals Service said many agencies were involved in the original operation, including officers from the Hennepin, Anoka and Ramsey county sheriff's offices and the federal Department of Homeland Security.
The warrant for Smith's arrest was issued in Minnesota, said Marshals Service spokeswoman Nikki Credic-Barrett. It was not clear if the warrant had any relation to a law enforcement scanner report that the man was a suspect in a murder, possibly in another state.
The personnel involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, Credic-Barrett said.
