Mayhem in Milwaukee Continues in Second Night of Protest as Rioters Target Whites After Police Shooting

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By Emily Zanotti | 5:07 pm, August 14, 2016
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UPDATE August 15th 2016:

Riots erupted again overnight in Milwaukee, with protesters hurling bricks, rocks and bottles, and firing shots at police in the second night of violence triggered by the fatal police shooting of an armed African American suspect.

At least two people, including a police officer, were injured early Monday, according to Milwaukee Police.

Police said an officer was injured and taken to the hospital after a rock smashed the windshield of a patrol squad car. Officers also rescued an 18 year old shooting victim, who was rushed to hospital in an armored vehicle. It was not immediately clear whether the wounded man was a rioter.

The unrest prompted Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to call a state of emergency on Sunday, CNN reports. But police said the National Guard had not been called in, as authorities worked to restore order in the area.

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Milwaukee exploded into violent, racially charged protests Saturday night, after police shot and killed an armed man following an afternoon traffic stop.

Mobs of angry people rioted, threw rocks, set cars on fire and appeared to target police and white owned business in the melees that followed — with racist and anti-white rhetoric flaring up on social media. But by Sunday morning, with police out in force and Wisconsin’s governor calling out the National Guard, some sense of calm had returned to the affected neighborhoods.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting that both the man shot by police — 23-year-old Sylville Smith — and the cop who shot him are black.

Milwaukee Police have identified the man shot as Sylville K Smith.
Milwaukee Police have identified the man shot as Sylville K Smith (Facebook).
Sylville K Smith in a photo taken from Facebook
Sylville K Smith in a photo taken from Facebook

The rioting began when two officers pulled over a car on Milwaukee’s north side, and the car’s two occupants took off running. Police say that one of the men, Smith, had a handgun, and when he refused to drop it, an officer shot him several times. Smith died at the scene. The yet-to-be-named officer was wearing a body camera and the Milwaukee police department has already opened an investigation.

Bystanders and journalists captured the ensuing unrest on social media.

While other protests of law enforcement have been mostly peaceful, Milwaukee’s quickly took a dark turn, as protesters appeared to target white motorists and white-owned businesses.

(The protesters have not claimed an affiliation with the national #BlackLivesMatter movement.)

https://twitter.com/BrotherTooTurnt/status/764706238894604288

The situation became dangerous for first responders.

Journalists cleared the streets after a group of Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporters were targeted and chased, and one was injured.

 

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