Protests erupted in the U.S. state of Wisconsin following a police shooting of a reportedly unarmed Black man, after which officials imposed a curfew in the city of Kenosha.
The man was hospitalized in a serious condition on Sunday evening after police shot him multiple times, local media reported. Crowds gathered at the scene and threw bricks and Molotov cocktails at police, according to reports in social media.
The victim has been identified as Jacob Blake by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers in a tweet. “We stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites,” the governor wrote.
The shooting happened at around 5 p.m. local time in Kenosha as officers were responding to a “domestic incident”. The victim was immediately taken to a hospital by the police, according to a statement issued by the Kenosha police department.
No further explanation was given by the police as to what led to the shooting. The shooting will be investigated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, police said.
A video circulating on social media and cited by the U.S. press showed the man walking towards a car followed by two officers and one of them shooting him as he opens the car door.
Multiple fires were set at the scene by a crowd that gathered to protest against the incident, according to various U.S. media reports.
Social media posts showed large crowds marching down streets and throwing Molotov cocktails and bricks at the police, with one officer reportedly injured. The police responded by imposing a city-wide curfew until 7 a.m.
There have been ongoing protests in the United States against police brutality and racism since the death on May 25 of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
REUTERS