Human RightsNorth America

US police shoot and kill another black man

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Another black man has been killed by white police officers in the United States, amid ongoing protests over a spate of police killings of African-Americans in the country.

Thaddeus McCarroll, 23, who locked himself in his mother’s house in a St. Louis suburb, was shot dead by police because they said he was holding a knife, authorities said on Saturday.

McCarroll’s mother had called the police after he did not let her enter the house and armed himself with a knife, reports said.

His mother explained the situation to the officers and within minutes they surrounded the house where McCarroll had barricaded himself in and tried to have him exit the home, but to no avail initially.

According to the police, the mother, when asked to describe anything abnormal about her son, she reported that he “was talking about going on a ‘journey’ and a ‘mission’ and mentioned a ‘black revolution.’”

When McCarroll finally decided to come out of the house, he was spotted by the police and their body cameras video recording him carrying a knife with one hand and a copy of Bible with the other walking toward them.

Officers fired several shots at McCarroll, killing him at spot.

The St. Louse County police department said that they were investigating the incident and those involved in the shooting are on paid leave.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said, “This is another tragic situation where police officers had no other option but to use deadly force against an armed subject.”

The killing of several unarmed black men by white police officers in recent months and decisions by grand juries not to indict the officers triggered large-scale protests across the United States.

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