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 Minneapolis police officers on bikes moved in to try to take control of the busy intersection.
A Friday night vigil was planned near the site where Winston Boogie Smith was fatally shot by law enforcement Thursday afternoon. Some Uptown businesses closed early Friday for fear that the vandalism and looting that broke out overnight Thursday might be repeated.
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 by members of a Marshals Service task force 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 call for information and accountability. They demanded the release of any footage of the shooting, although the Marshals Service has said it does not use body or vehicle cameras.
Smith was one of seven children, and has three of his own, his family said. His mother, Tijuana Wilson, said law enforcement officers are killing far too many young Black men.
Authorities are "trying to find justice and reason why they why they did it when they know they was wrong when they did it," she said.
Smith "was a comedian," said his sister Tiesnia Floyd. "So this doesn't sound like him." He wasn't perfect, she said, but was trying to improve his circumstances.
"I wish my brother was given a second chance," she said, listing some mass shooters who are white who were arrested without being shot. "Even if it is in a cell, at least he would still be breathing."
Jaylani Hussein of CAIR-MN told those gathered that people will continue to "hit the streets" until there is justice in the case.
