Minneapolis Black Lives Matter visited by fire officials

None of the injured – all black men – suffered life-threatening wounds.

Several men who had behaved suspiciously reportedly were being chased by Black Lives Matter supporters when they turned, shot and wounded five protesters about a block from the protest site next to the Minneapolis Police Department’s Fourth Precinct. Three people wearing masks and carrying replica firearms were spotted inside the mall before the crowd went inside and were later arrested, police said.

Shoppers seemed to take the disturbance in stride, with some even snapping photos of the crowd. “It’s like a movie, right?” she said. “I don’t want them to become another statistic. The rich shop while the poor die”.

“That needs to end”, Chapman said.

“I felt it was important to support the movement because just so many black lives are being wasted – not only black lives – but all lives”.

Some of the tensest moments came when the surging crowd confronted cordons of police outside the malls.

No one was hurt during the two hour protest. Some minor property damage was reported.

Two police officers are on administrative leave as the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and federal authorities investigate the shooting.

At around 10:30 a.m., dozens of protesters gathered near the Hall of Justice downtown to hear speeches given by some of the group’s organizers.

Jamar Clark, 24, was fatally shot by Minneapolis police on November 15. The video shows Laquan McDonald being shot by Officer Jason Van Dyke, who was charged with first-degree murder this week. That didn’t happen this year, though the march was much bigger.

Amber Braxton, 36, came from her home in Bothell with her husband and 5-year-old son in tow.

Around the country, demonstrations shifted the days focus from consumerism to police accountability and threats to the lives of black people – but the impact was especially big here in Seattle.

Earlier, Tyner had said fire officials wouldn’t make demands on the protesters. The boy was holding a pellet gun. “If I change three minds today, then I have done my job”. They carried signs decrying racism and police brutality.

Wesley Martin was among the protesters who escorted them away. Wife and husband Jeannie and Chris Kincaid, of Seattle, had hoped to take in the tree lighting.

Prosecutors are filing charges against four men who were arrested last week after shots were fired at demonstrators protesting the killing of a black man by police.