Americans Hold Rally after Cop Shoots Black Man

A shooting in the US state of Minnesota prompted a protest by the group “Black Lives Matter” after a black man was killed by a police officer.

Some witnesses said the man was handcuffed when he was shot. Police have said their preliminary investigation shows the man was not handcuffed, but the investigation is ongoing, AP reported on Sunday.

Jason Sole, chair of the Minneapolis NAACP’s criminal justice committee, said many black residents of north Minneapolis are upset.

“We have been saying for a significant amount of time that Minneapolis is one bullet away from Ferguson,” he said referring to the shooting by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. last year of black 18-year-old Michael Brown, which sparked nationwide protests.

“That bullet was fired last night. We want justice immediately,” Sole said.

The shooting happened after police said they were called to north Minneapolis at about 12:45 a.m. Sunday for a report of an assault.

When they arrived, the man had returned and was interfering with paramedics who were assisting the victim, police said.

At some point, an officer fired at least once, hitting the man, police said. Witnesses told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that there was a big crowd at the scene, and bystanders became agitated as police pushed them back. Some witnesses said police used a chemical irritant on the crowd.

Protesters gathered Sunday afternoon at the site of the shooting and marched toward the police station, where they banged on the door of the local precinct and demanded to be allowed inside.