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US: Black man shot multiple times by police in Wisconsin city, curfew imposed

WION Web Team
WashingtonUpdated: Aug 24, 2020, 07:41 PM IST
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File photo. Photograph:(AFP)

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The man, named as Jacob Blake by Wisconsin governor Tony Evers, was airlifted to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and was in serious condition, Kenosha police said.

A large crowd of protesters gathered following the police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States. 

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A video posted on social media appeared to show police officers shoot at a Black man's back seven times as he leaned into a vehicle.

Crowds gathered at the scene, set fires and threw bricks and Molotov cocktails at police, prompting authorities to impose a curfew. 

The man, named as Jacob Blake by Wisconsin governor Tony Evers, was airlifted to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and was in serious condition, Kenosha police said.

"Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha, Wisconsin," Evers said on Twitter.

"While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.

"We stand with all those who have and continue to demand justice, equity, and accountability for Black lives in our country."

Police said the shooting occurred when they were responding to a domestic incident at about 5:11pm.

Cellphone footage of the incident shows a black man followed by two police officers with guns drawn as he goes around the front of a gray SUV.

As he opens the door and tries to get into the driver's seat one of the officers pulls on his T-shirt and he appears to be shot repeatedly in the back.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said Blake's three sons were in the car at the time and he had been trying to break up a fight between two women.

"They saw a cop shoot their father. They will be traumatized forever," Crump said on Twitter.

(With inputs from AFP)