Protesters gathered downtown after a man was shot by Raleigh police off New Bern Avenue Tuesday night. His condition was not readily available.
Raleigh police responded to a 911 call describing a man with a gun on North Rogers Lane at 6:40 p.m. and found 26-year-old Javier Torres, who attempted to flee, police told the INDY. Officers chased Torres on foot and demanded he drop the gun before shooting him.
A handgun was found at the scene, police said.
The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting. The officer was wearing a body camera, numerous outlets reported.
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“It’s extremely concerning that Raleigh police continue to shoot our citizens in the back,” said activist Kerwin Pittman, who stood with protesters on Fayetteville Street at midnight. “Hopefully this time someone is held accountable.”
Protesters could be heard shouting, “No justice, no peace,” in the background of the call. Pittman said there was a crowd of 300 gathered to protest the shooting. In video sent to the INDY, protesters could be seen blocking a road downtown. Police were present.
The protest initially began outside of the police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown’s home Tuesday night, according to The Daily Beast. The INDY was told the protest later moved downtown.
Torres was struck near where police shot and killed Soheil Antonio Mojarrad after he allegedly approached an officer with a knife.
Contact Raleigh news editor Leigh Tauss at ltauss@indyweek.com.
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If a man is carrying a gun in public and threatening people enough for them to call 911, running away and not following the directions of the officer to put the gun down, certainly the officer has the right to shoot. If we protest every single time an officer pulls the trigger, we take away the police’s legs to stand on an promote violence by taking away law an order. Certainly there are still times where police shoot at an inappropriate time because of racial prejudices, but this is not one of them. We need discernment.