A candlelight vigil held in remembrance of 16-year-old Kimani Gray who was fatally shot late Saturday night (March 9) by police turned violent Monday evening, according to media reports. Frustrated attendees reportedly threw bottles at cops, trashed a local drug store and attacked a store clerk, manager and security guard.
The vigil started around 7 p.m. in Brooklyn’s East Flatbush neighborhood where Gray was killed over the weekend. By 8:30 p.m., an NYPD source said “a large, disorderly group [began] throwing bottles at police.” While riot police were among the crowd trying to defuse the situation, protestors quickly moved the disturbance to a nearby Rite Aid where individuals began pulling items off the shelves and attacking store employees.
Merchandise was allegedly stolen from the store and cash was taken from the register. The Huffington Post reports one man who had been assaulted and was bleeding from the head was rushed to a local hospital in unknown condition.
Surrounding shops within the neighborhood were also damaged, as well as the windows of a city bus.
One person was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
On Saturday, a pair of plainclothes officers were patrolling the area in an unmarked car when they came upon a group of men just before 11:30 p.m, including Gray. When the teen separated from the group, officers said Gray adjusted his waistband in a “suspicious manner,” prompting them to get out of the car and question him.
The cops said they fired shots at Gray when he allegedly turned and pointed a .38-caliber Rohm revolver, although one witness claimed they never heard a warning being given. He was later pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital Center.
Both officers have been placed on administrative duty.
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