Unrest flares anew

Charlotte mayor says govt would consider other options if violence continues to flare

State of emergency declared in US city of Charlotte as protests over shooting continue.

Violent protesters rampaged through parts of downtown Charlotte as anger continued to build over the deadly police shooting of a black man.

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency on Wednesday night in the state’s largest city and called in the National Guard after Charlotte’s police chief said he needed the help.

“We cannot tolerate violence. We cannot tolerate the destruction of property and will not tolerate the attacks toward our police officers that are occurring right now, and I feel very strongly about that,” the governor said. “That is not the American way.”

Several hundred people taunted riot police on Wednesday night amid clashes in the city center, a second night of unrest ignited by the shooting.

Protester on life support

A protester was critically wounded and on life support, the city said, after earlier reporting that the person had died.

Authorities had said the protester was shot by a civilian, adding that police did not open fire. An AFP reporter at the scene of the protests saw a man who was appar- ently shot falling to the ground, bleeding heavily.

Some demonstrators banged on windows, others stood on cars and threw objects at police. Police fired what appeared to be tear gas, sending the protesters scattering.

“We are working to bring peace and calm to our city. We know this is not who Charlotte is,” Mayor Jennifer Roberts said, calling on people to stay home and off the streets.

“Tell everyone that violence is not the answer,” she said.

Roberts added that authorities would consider other options if violence continues to flare, “possibly curfews and that sort of thing, but rightnow, weare continuing toworkwith what we have tonight”.

Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was shot dead in an apartment complex parking lot on Tuesday after an encounter with officers searching for a suspect wanted for arrest.

Sixteen officers and several demonstrators were injured in clashes overnight on Tuesday following Scott’s death, the latest in a string of policeinvolved killings of black men that have fueled outrage across the United States.

Charlotte police tweeted that four officers were hurt during the second night of unrest on Wednesday night, but said none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

Before Wednesday’ s protest, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton weighed in on the violence, which came on the heels of another fatal police shooting of a black man, Terence Crutcher, on Friday in Tulsa.

“Keith Lamont Scott. Terence Crutcher. Too many others. This has got to end. -H,” tweeted Democrat Clinton, signing the post herself.

After calling to “make America safe again” in a tweet, Trump suggested on Wednesday that the Tulsa officer who shot Crutcher had “choked”.

“I don’t know what she was thinking,” the Republican said in Cleveland, Ohio.

We are working to bring peace and calm to our city. We know this is not who Charlotte is.” Jennifer Roberts, mayor of Charlotte

JASON MICZEK / REUTERS Two women embrace while looking at a police officer in Charlotte onWednesday during a protest against the police shooting of a black man.