Outrage after another black man is killed by a white police officer

Philando Castile was shot in front of his girlfriend and her daughter a day after Alton Sterling was gunned down

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(Image credit: Angelo Merendino/Getty Images)

A black man has been shot dead by a white police officer in the US state of Minnesota less than 24 hours after a similar incident took place in Louisiana.

A video live-streamed on Facebook last night shows the aftermath of the shooting of 32-year-old Philando Castile, who was pulled over for a routine traffic violation in Falcon Heights.

Filmed by his girlfriend, identified locally as Lavish Reynolds, the footage shows Castile slumped over in the driver's seat, bleeding profusely. A police officer is seen pointing his gun through the car window.

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"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his licence and registration, sir," she says. "Police shot him for no apparent reason. No reason at all."

Reynolds also says that her boyfriend informed the police officer that he was licenced to carry a concealed gun and had one in his possession

The police officer can be heard shouting: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

Reynolds's young daughter was in the car at the time of the shooting, though neither of them is believed to have been injured.

Police say the officer responsible has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. They confirmed they were aware of the video but provided no comment on it.

In an emotional interview with CNN, Castile's mother, Valerie, said: "We are being hunted."

Castile was "immediately criminally profiled" by the police, his cousin Antonio Johnson told the Star Tribune. "He lost his life over it tonight."

Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the National Association for the local chapter of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), says the family is calling for justice and accountability.

"We're demanding a change to our laws and policies that allow these types of things to happen," she said. "Too often officers are taught to shoot first and ask questions last."

This is the latest in a series of high-profile shootings of black men by white police officers in the US. The shootings have reignited angry protests over the police's use of lethal force and deepened racial divisions.

A day before Castile was shot, another black man was filmed being gunned down by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling was shot several times while he was pinned to the ground by two officers and appeared unable to move. Witnesses said he posed no threat to the police.

Another wave of demonstrations, led by those in the Black Lives Matter movement, are taking place in Louisiana and Minnesota, and across the country.

"They've prayed, they've sung, they've cried and they've danced," the BBC's Laura Bicker reports from Baton Rouge. "It has been peaceful but there is real anger here and at times almost despair."

She adds: "It's not just about the death of one man. There are some who feel that the fight for equality might be one that they will never win."

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