Tension Escalates: Another Black Teen Killed by US Police
An 18-year-old armed teenager identified as Antonio Martin has been shot by officers in the St. Louis area, US police confirmed. The incident was followed by protesters clashing with police at the scene, accompanied by the sound of loud bangs.
US protest against police racism
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, at least three people have been arrested in the clashes.
Hundreds of protesters are in the area. YouTube videos show several people letting off fireworks at the gas station, while others are smashing the windows of a shop there.
Antonio Martin was reportedly killed at the Mobil gas station in the suburb Berkeley, St. Louis.
Social media users posted photos and videos of the victim’s emotional mother bursting into tears the moment she learns her son is dead.
“They started shooting,” Toni Martin, the teen’s mother told reporters.
She added that her son was with his friend at the time of the incident. “That’s my baby,” Toni Martin was crying over and over again.
In a statement, St. Louis County Police said Martin was shot after he pulled a gun and pointed it at officers as they approached him outside the gas station.
“Fearing for his life, the Berkeley officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him,” read the statement.
The shooting followed protests across the United States over the police killings of black men and grand juries refusal to indict involved officers.
Martin attended Jennings Senior High School in St. Louis, Missouri, according to Twitter users.
Antonio’s mother later told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that her son was expelled from school, but was trying to gain employment via Jobs Corps, a US program offering free-of-charge education and vocational training to young people.
The medical examiner has reportedly arrived at the scene of the accident.
Dozens of Twitter users stated Martin was unarmed when he was shot. People gathered at the scene, demanding police explain what happened.
They are shouting “Innocent people!” and “What is that?”
“You drop four bodies, I’m giving you four seasons of protest,” a woman has heard shouting at a police officer.
Twitter users report that the body of Antonio has been blocked from view.
According to bystanders, the teen was alive for about 30 minutes after being shot.
Earlier on Tuesday, a grand jury cleared former police officer Christopher Manney for the fatal shooting of 31-year-old African-American Dontre Hamilton.
The decision triggered anger among people who held demonstrations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
Missouri has also been the scene of angry protests since another white police officer Darren Wilson was cleared for the killing of unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown in August.
Protesters and human rights activists described Brown’s killing as an example of the excessive use of force and racism in law enforcement in the United States.
Protests were also held in New York City against police brutality after a grand jury failed to indict white police officer Daniel Pantaleo who choked unarmed black man Eric Garner.
