This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
A Black man was shot and killed by a St. Anthony police officer during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights Wednesday. According to the Star Tribune, the man, identified by family members as Philando Castile, 32, died from his injuries at Hennepin County Medical Center. He was a supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori School in St. Paul, according to reports.
Word of the shooting spread quickly on social media after a live stream of the shooting’s aftermath was posted to the Facebook page of Lavish Reynolds using Facebook Live.
In the video, a woman identifies herself as the girlfriend of the man shot, and who was later identified as Diamond Reynolds, and narrates what led up to the shooting. Her boyfriend is seen bleeding and slumped over on the passenger side of the vehicle. Her young daughter was reportedly in the car.
The Diamond Reynolds states that she and her boyfriend were pulled over for having a busted taillight, and her boyfriend was shot by a police officer as he was tried to get his identification.
She goes on to state that her boyfriend told the officer that he was licensed to carry a firearm and was retrieving his I.D., as requested by the officer. An officer can be seen on the side of the car holding a gun and stating, “I told him not to reach for it. I told him to keep his hands up!”
The roughly 10-minute video was temporarily removed from Facebook, and uploaded to YouTube (seen below).
Warning: This video contains graphic content:
The Falcon Heights shooting comes on the heels of Tuesday’s fatal shooting of Alton Sterling, who was shot and killed by police in Baton Rouge, La. That shooting was captured on video and has sparked protests and vigils in Baton Rouge and across the nation. It was announced Wednesday that the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is leading an investigation.
Roughly 100 or so protesters assembled at the location of the shooting death of Castile early Thursday morning. The crowd eventually moved to the Governor’s mansion. Below are scenes from the protests and more developments as shared on social media:
St. Anthony Police Department issued a press release early Thursday morning:
Press release just in from #FalconHeightsShooting read it here: pic.twitter.com/FBiJh7S3iA
— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) July 7, 2016
Crowd outside #Minnesota governor's mansion getting bigger https://t.co/oQn2d1303i #PhilandoCastile #FalconHeights https://t.co/vXHhq93hWc
— RT America (@RT_America) July 7, 2016
Sorry for dark video. This is the scene outside of Governor's Mansion in St. Paul. People singing to @kendricklamar pic.twitter.com/acg4aov9u2
— Melissa Colorado (@melissacolorado) July 7, 2016
Outside the Governor's Mansion. #PhilandoCastile #FalconHeightsShooting #AltonSterling #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/oUEpmtdqZo
— Black Visions Collective (@BlackVisionsMN) July 7, 2016
Minnesota Gov removed from mansion after protesters gather outside following shooting #FalcolnHeightsShooting https://t.co/NDepdXeSMz
— Roop Raj (@rooprajfox2) July 7, 2016
About three dozen protesters currently in street outside the governor's mansion. pic.twitter.com/MP9ZDWMvGb
— Jon Collins (@JonSCollins) July 7, 2016
Philando Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, appeared on CNN Thursday morning:
Valerie Castile: What's the difference in complying if you get killed anyway? #PhilandoCastile https://t.co/oJZvYtI0b0
— New Day (@NewDay) July 7, 2016
A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist Philando Castile’s family.
We will update this story as news continues to develop.
Reach the MSR staff at msrnewsonline@spokesman-recorder.com.