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In his last few seconds of life, Alton Sterling seemed
completely immobile. Two Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police officers had
pinned him to the floor, flat on his
back. But even as Sterling seemed
completely unable to move, one of the police officers yelled, "He’s got a
gun!" Within seconds, an officer shot Sterling, who was still pinned to
the ground by the cops. Sterling died of multiple gunshot wounds,
according to an autopsy.
After a bystander released video of the shooting, people
quickly protested in the area and voiced their anger on social media.
Several people went to the convenience store where Sterling was shot,
holding up "black lives matter" and "hands up, don’t shoot" signs, Maya Lau and Bryn Stole reported for the Advocate.
Sterling’s death is the latest in a long string of police
shootings to lead to outrage, particularly from the Black Lives Matter
and racial justice movements against racial disparities
in the criminal justice system. To many critics, it is just another
example of an issue that quickly rose to the national spotlight after
the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014.
According to the Advocate, Baton Rouge police officers Blaine Salamoni and Howie Lake
responded to a call at a convenience store around 12:35 am on Tuesday
after receiving an anonymous tip that a man in a red shirt who was
selling CDs had pointed a gun at someone. Sterling, a 37-year-old black
man, matched part of the description: He sold CDs, and he was wearing a
red shirt.
Two cellphone videos recorded by bystanders, one published by the Daily Beast
after the shooting drew national attention, show what happened next:
Two police officers yelled at Sterling to get on the ground. The
officers then pulled him to the ground, pinning Sterling on his back. An
officer yelled, "He’s got a gun!" One officer aimed his gun at
Sterling’s chest at virtually point-blank range. Within seconds, at
least one officer opened fire, even though Sterling looks completely
pinned down and unable to move. One officer then pulled out an object —
it’s not clear what it is — from Sterling’s right pants pocket. Sterling
was pronounced dead shortly after.
Warning: extremely graphic footage of a police shooting:
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