Violence continues across the Atlantic. Two people were shot dead on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in the US town of Kenosha, where clashes broke out during angry protests after a white policeman seriously injured an African American, Jacob Blake.
"The shooting resulted in the deaths of two people and a third person was hospitalized with serious but not life threatening injuries," Kenosha police said on Twitter.
pic.twitter.com/2skV5edTUE
- Kenosha Police Dept. (@KenoshaPolice) August 26, 2020Videos online show people running through the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA, as gunshots ring out. In others, we can see injured men on the ground.
Third night of demonstrations
The events occurred as hundreds of people expressed their anger, for the third night in a row, after a video was released showing Jacob Blake, seriously injured Sunday by a white policeman in Kenosha.
The images show the young father, followed by two police officers having drawn their weapons as he walks around a car. An officer grabs his white tank top as he opens the door and tries to get into the driver's seat. The police officer then fired - the recording suggesting seven shots - hitting Jacob Blake with several bullets in the back.
"Self-proclaimed militias"
At least a small group of men, mostly white and heavily armed, patrolled the city overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, saying they wanted to protect property, an AFP journalist noted.
Police are investigating whether Tuesday night's shooting "stems from a conflict between self-proclaimed militias guarding a gas station and protesters," The New York Times said . Clashes between groups of demonstrators and police had erupted earlier, the former firing fireworks at the latter who retaliated with rubber bullets.
Videos are circulating
One of the videos, produced by photographer Alex Lourie and whose authenticity has been established by AFP, shows a man sitting on the ground, bleeding profusely from a wound in his arm, as vehicles from the forces of the The order approached him, asking the other people present to "step back". The police help the injured man to stand up.
Another video shows a man, who appears to be carrying a gun, falling to the ground. Several gunshots were then heard as people ran away. The police presence was weak in the city on Tuesday evening, except around the courthouse, AFP found.
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