Person shot during second night of protests in Milwaukee

(Image credit: Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

published 15 August 2016

Authorities in Milwaukee say a person was shot Sunday during a protest following the police-involved shooting of a black man during a traffic stop.

There were about 150 people blocking an intersection, and officers had to use an armored vehicle to reach the unidentified victim, who was taken to the hospital, The Associated Press reports. The skirmishes began on Saturday night after the shooting of Sylville K. Smith, 23. Six businesses burned down, 17 people were arrested, and four officers were injured by flying glass and concrete, AP reports; they have all been released from the hospital. In 2014, protests popped up in Milwaukee after officers shot and killed a mentally ill black man named Dontre Hamilton.

Police Chief Edward Flynn said Sunday that while an investigation is ongoing, he watched footage from the officer's body camera, and he "certainly appeared to be within lawful bounds." He said Smith was shot in the arm and chest after he turned toward the officer with a gun in his hand and did not comply with orders to drop it. Flynn would not name the officer involved in the shooting, but did say he is black. Mayor Tom Barnett said he wanted the community to know that the footage shows Smith with a gun, but also to keep in mind that "a young man lost his life yesterday afternoon. And no matter what the circumstances are, his family has to be hurting."

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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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