Charlotte police arrest suspect in protester's death
Charlotte – Police on Friday arrested a suspect in the killing of a protester during riots here stemming from the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by a Charlotte police officer.
The suspect was arrested Friday after a review of surveillance footage of the moment when Justin Carr, a 26-year-old African American, was shot in the head on Wednesday, the chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Kerr Putney, said at a press conference, in which he was joined by Mayor Jennifer Roberts.
Carr, who had been listed in critical condition, died Thursday at a hospital.
Putney did not identify the suspect at the press conference, but the CMPD said on Twitter late Friday morning that an individual named Rayquan Borum, who is also black, had been charged in Carr's death.
The police chief added that three people were arrested Thursday night, one of them for possession of a firearm, and four local police officers and National Guard troops were slightly injured.
People protesting Scott's death took to the streets for the third straight night on Thursday, remaining outside and being allowed to demonstrate peacefully even after midnight, when a six-hour curfew announced a few hours earlier took effect.
The curfew will remain in place over the weekend.
A state of emergency was declared in North Carolina on Wednesday in response to the unrest, with members of the National Guard and the state Highway Patrol being deployed to bring order to Charlotte.
Around 50 people were arrested and numerous people were injured in rioting on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Putney said he asked that a curfew be imposed after learning that a violent group of demonstrators was planning to make their way to Charlotte from the neighboring state of South Carolina.
Asked about protesters' demand that authorities release footage from a police dashboard camera and the body camera of the CMPD officer, Brentley Vinson, who killed Scott, Putney and Roberts said they were both in favor of doing so but did not indicate when that would happen.
Putney said he favored transparency but realized that a delicate balance had to be maintained since an investigation is currently underway.
The mayor said for her part that the videos did not conclusively show whether or not Scott had a gun in his hand at the time he was fatally shot.
The protests erupted on Tuesday after Vinson killed the 43-year-old Scott in the parking lot of an apartment complex.
Police said Scott was armed, refused to heed the officers' orders to put down his weapon and posed an imminent threat, but his family members and eyewitnesses dispute that version and say he was carrying a book and not a gun.
Charlotte – Police on Friday arrested a suspect in the killing of a protester during riots here stemming from the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by a Charlotte police officer.
The suspect was arrested Friday after a review of surveillance footage of the moment when Justin Carr, a 26-year-old African American, was shot in the head on Wednesday, the chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Kerr Putney, said at a press conference, in which he was joined by Mayor Jennifer Roberts.
Carr, who had been listed in critical condition, died Thursday at a hospital.
Putney did not identify the suspect at the press conference, but the CMPD said on Twitter late Friday morning that an individual named Rayquan Borum, who is also black, had been charged in Carr's death.
The police chief added that three people were arrested Thursday night, one of them for possession of a firearm, and four local police officers and National Guard troops were slightly injured.
People protesting Scott's death took to the streets for the third straight night on Thursday, remaining outside and being allowed to demonstrate peacefully even after midnight, when a six-hour curfew announced a few hours earlier took effect.
The curfew will remain in place over the weekend.
A state of emergency was declared in North Carolina on Wednesday in response to the unrest, with members of the National Guard and the state Highway Patrol being deployed to bring order to Charlotte.
Around 50 people were arrested and numerous people were injured in rioting on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Putney said he asked that a curfew be imposed after learning that a violent group of demonstrators was planning to make their way to Charlotte from the neighboring state of South Carolina.
Asked about protesters' demand that authorities release footage from a police dashboard camera and the body camera of the CMPD officer, Brentley Vinson, who killed Scott, Putney and Roberts said they were both in favor of doing so but did not indicate when that would happen.
Putney said he favored transparency but realized that a delicate balance had to be maintained since an investigation is currently underway.
The mayor said for her part that the videos did not conclusively show whether or not Scott had a gun in his hand at the time he was fatally shot.
The protests erupted on Tuesday after Vinson killed the 43-year-old Scott in the parking lot of an apartment complex.
Police said Scott was armed, refused to heed the officers' orders to put down his weapon and posed an imminent threat, but his family members and eyewitnesses dispute that version and say he was carrying a book and not a gun.
