3 detained in shooting near Black Lives Matters protest
MINNEAPOLIS -- Police said three men were in custody Tuesday suspected of shooting five people protesting the police killing of a black man in the Midwestern city of Minneapolis. Authorities said they were still seeking additional suspects.
No one suffered life-threatening wounds in Monday night's shooting, which took place about a block from the police precinct where where protesters have been demonstrating since the Nov. 15 death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark. Clark's family called for an end to the demonstrations out of safety concerns.
Authorities arrested a 23-year-old white man, who remained in custody Tuesday evening, and a 32-year-old Hispanic man, who was later released. Two more men -- both white, ages 26 and 21 -- turned themselves in Tuesday afternoon.
Witnesses at the scene claimed to CBS Minnesota that the shooters were white supremacists and were hanging around the rally. Protesters say they asked the alleged white supremacists -- all of whom were reportedly wearing masks, to leave, but the men came back a short time later and fired six shots at the crowd.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. By Tuesday afternoon, police had announced two arrests: a 23-year-old white man and a 32-year-old Hispanic man arrested.
"We are sparing no efforts to bring any and all of those responsible to justice," Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a written statement.
A number of fatal police shootings around the U.S. have given rise to the Black Lives Matter movement, protesting the treatment of African-Americans by law enforcement agencies.
Henry Habu, who said he has been providing security for the protesters in Minneapolis, said he and others approached four white people who were standing under a "Justice4Jamar" sign to ask what they were doing there. The group was composed of three men and one woman, with three of them wearing masks that left their eyes exposed.
"We're here for Jamar," one said, according to Habu.
Habu said they tried to escort the four from the scene and they took off running. Habu said he did not see the shooting that followed, but heard it.
"It happened so fast," he said.
Oluchi Omeoga witnessed the shooting and said a handful of protesters followed three men in masks to a street corner, where the men pulled out weapons and began firing.
Two people were shot in the leg, another in the arm and a fourth in the stomach, said Mica Grimm, an organizer with Black Lives Matter who said she arrived on the scene soon after the shooting.
In a statement released early Tuesday through U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison's office, Clark's family thanked protesters for their "incredible support" but asked, in light of the shootings, that the demonstration outside the precinct offices end and protesters move "onto the next step."
Demonstrators planned to announce their next step later Tuesday following a meeting with community members about strategy.
On Tuesday morning, about 50 protesters were outside of the 4th Precinct, and more were trickling in. Some said they planned to stay despite the Clark family's request.
Habu said a crowd gathered around the shooting scene and police used a chemical irritant to push them back. Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder did not immediately respond to a question about the use of any chemical irritant.
Authorities have said Clark was shot during a struggle with police after he interfered with paramedics who were trying to assist an assault victim. But some people who said they saw the shooting allege Clark was handcuffed.
Protesters and Clark's family have called for investigators to release video of the shooting.