Joe Biden urges unity after deadly officer-involved shootings of black men

(Image credit: Paulo Nunes Dos Santos/AFP/Getty Images)

published 7 July 2016

Vice President Joe Biden tweeted on Thursday that the country needs to come together in the wake of two deadly officer-involved shootings this week.

"More black lives lost," he tweeted. "More anger I share with the country. More broken trust we have to restore. We all must do this." On Wednesday, 32-year-old Philando Castile was shot by an officer during a traffic stop, after letting the officer know he had a concealed carry permit and had a firearm on him. On Tuesday, Alton Sterling, 37, was tackled to the ground by officers, and shot several times; an autopsy revealed he died of multiple gunshot wounds to the back and chest. In Castile's case, his girlfriend live streamed the aftermath of the shooting to her Facebook page, and a bystander shot cell phone video of Sterling's altercation with police.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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