Woman killed after driver runs into group protesting police shooting in Minneapolis
The protesters had gathered to protest police brutality in Minneapolis where George Floyd was killed.
A woman was killed after a car plowed through a crowd of protesters late Sunday night in Minneapolis.
The Minneapolis Police Department confirmed the incident on Twitter, writing, “11:39 PM, vehicle drives into protesters on Lake Street / Girard. Suspect arrested and taken into custody. 3 protesters transported to hospital by EMS – 1 very critical.”
That victim died from her injuries according to an update.
The protesters had gathered to protest police brutality in the city where George Floyd was killed by former officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020 in an incident that sparked international outrage.
A man who was present at the protest told The New York Times, “I’ve never seen anything that horrendous.”
Zachary James said that he and other protesters had blockaded an area of the road with their own cars and that 40 to 50 other people had been “occupying peacefully” when a car drove toward them at a high speed and hit one of the cars which then hit the woman who was sent flying into a pole.
“She was just here for us and with us,” James said. “I watched her body fly.”
The suspect in the incident was pulled from his car and restrained by the protesters. His identity and those of the victims have not been released.
According to a local report, protesters returned to the scene of the crash early Monday morning and attempted to block motorists during the morning commute. A person reportedly fired a gun in an apparent attempt to keep motorists away from the intersection and was arrested.
Protesters were demonstrating after the June 3 shooting death of a 33-year-old Black man, Winston Boogie Smith Jr., by U.S. Marshals in Minneapolis.
The man was shot when the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force attempted to take him into custody for a felony firearms violation warrant. He was shot at a parking ramp after reportedly firing a weapon from inside his car.
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