The U.S. Justice Department said on
Wednesday it would investigate the killing
of a black man pinned to the ground and
shot in the chest by two white police
officers outside a convenience store in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Captured on at least two videos, graphic images
of the shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, early
Tuesday morning stirred protests and social
media outcry over the latest case of alleged
police brutality against African-Americans in
cities from Ferguson , Missouri, to Baltimore and
New York .
One of the two officers shot Sterling five times at
close range, and the other removed something
from Sterling's pants pocket as he was dying,
according to images on a video recorded by
Abdullah Muflahi , owner of the Triple S Food
Mart where Sterling was killed in the parking lot.
"I'm heartbroken. It's outrageous. It's crazy,"
said Muflahi, who considered Sterling a friend
and allowed him to sell CDs outside his store.
He provided a copy of the video to Reuters and
said police took a gun from Sterling's pocket.
Several hundred people gathered on Wednesday
for a prayer vigil near the spot where Sterling
was fatally shot, with speakers calling for
peaceful protests, justice and unity in the face of
"excessive force" by police against black
residents.
"If we stand divided, we are already defeated,"
Bishop Gregory Cooper of Baton Rouge told the
crowd, which included families with children and
filled the store's parking lot as well as nearby
streets. Police stayed on the fringes of the
gathering.
Local officials rushed to defuse tensions, saying
there would be an independent investigation,
after media showed a separate graphic video of
the shooting recorded by a bystander.
"I have very serious concerns. The video is
disturbing, to say the least," Governor John Bel
Edwards told reporters.
Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and
local police said they welcomed the probe
launched by the Justice Department, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee
Hillary Clinton said incidents like this one
undermine trust between police and the
communities they serve.
"Something is profoundly wrong when so many
Americans have reason to believe that our
country doesn't consider them as precious as
others because of the color of their skin," she
said in a statement.
There was no immediate statement on the
incident from presumptive Republican nominee
Donald Trump .
Wednesday it would investigate the killing
of a black man pinned to the ground and
shot in the chest by two white police
officers outside a convenience store in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Captured on at least two videos, graphic images
of the shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, early
Tuesday morning stirred protests and social
media outcry over the latest case of alleged
police brutality against African-Americans in
cities from Ferguson , Missouri, to Baltimore and
New York .
One of the two officers shot Sterling five times at
close range, and the other removed something
from Sterling's pants pocket as he was dying,
according to images on a video recorded by
Abdullah Muflahi , owner of the Triple S Food
Mart where Sterling was killed in the parking lot.
"I'm heartbroken. It's outrageous. It's crazy,"
said Muflahi, who considered Sterling a friend
and allowed him to sell CDs outside his store.
He provided a copy of the video to Reuters and
said police took a gun from Sterling's pocket.
Several hundred people gathered on Wednesday
for a prayer vigil near the spot where Sterling
was fatally shot, with speakers calling for
peaceful protests, justice and unity in the face of
"excessive force" by police against black
residents.
"If we stand divided, we are already defeated,"
Bishop Gregory Cooper of Baton Rouge told the
crowd, which included families with children and
filled the store's parking lot as well as nearby
streets. Police stayed on the fringes of the
gathering.
Local officials rushed to defuse tensions, saying
there would be an independent investigation,
after media showed a separate graphic video of
the shooting recorded by a bystander.
"I have very serious concerns. The video is
disturbing, to say the least," Governor John Bel
Edwards told reporters.
Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and
local police said they welcomed the probe
launched by the Justice Department, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee
Hillary Clinton said incidents like this one
undermine trust between police and the
communities they serve.
"Something is profoundly wrong when so many
Americans have reason to believe that our
country doesn't consider them as precious as
others because of the color of their skin," she
said in a statement.
There was no immediate statement on the
incident from presumptive Republican nominee
Donald Trump .
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