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Amid tension, police shooting report says suspect raised gun
A man wounded by police in a case that sparked protests around North Carolina’s capital city was raising a gun when he was shot, according to a preliminary investigative report, which comes as community activists press for increased police transparency and accountability.
The shooting of Javier Torres, 26, on March 10 ignited spontaneous demonstrations around Raleigh after social media rumors incorrectly suggested an unarmed 16-year-old was shot and killed. Hours after the shooting, news video showed crowds at the home of Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown, demanding to see her. Outside the governor’s mansion, protesters burned a flag in the street.
Zainab Baloch, a member of the nonprofit Raleigh Police Accountability Community Taskforce, said that regardless of initial confusion about the age of the person shot, the protests reflected pent-up frustration surrounding recent officer-involved shootings in Raleigh, including two fatal shootings in the past year.
“The situation with the confusion around Javier’s shooting doesn’t change the fact that there are major racial discrepancies in policing in Raleigh, and our Black and Brown communities are being subjected to constant trauma and death due to the lack of accountability,” she said in response to a Twitter message.