Protesters, cops clash after Black man shot in Wisconsin in US

Police stand near a building that was set on fire by the protesters in Kenosha. Pic AP/PTI

Anger over the shooting of a Black man by police spilled into the streets of Kenosha for a second night Monday [US time], with police again firing tear gas at hundreds of protesters who defied a curfew, threw bottles and shot fireworks at law enforcement guarding the courthouse.

The southeastern Wisconsin city became the nation's latest flashpoint in a summer of racial unrest after cellphone footage of police shooting Jacob Blake 'apparently in the back, as he leaned into his SUV while his three children sat in the vehicle' circulated widely on social media on Sunday. The 29-year-old was hospitalized in serious condition.

The shooting drew condemnation from Democratic Gov Tony Evers, who also called out 125 members of the National Guard on Monday after protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear the previous night.

Police first fired tear gas Monday about 30 minutes after the 8 pm curfew took effect to disperse protesters who chanted, 'No justice, no peace' as they confronted a line of officers who wore protective gear and stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the courthouse entrance. But hundreds of people stuck around, screaming at police and lighting fires, including to a garbage truck near the courthouse.

Tensions had flared anew earlier Monday after a news conference with Kenosha Mayor John Antarmian, originally to be held in a park, was moved inside the city's public safety building. Hundreds of protesters rushed to the building and a door was snapped off its hinges before police in riot gear pepper-sprayed the crowd, which included a photographer from The Associated Press.

The man who said he made the video, 22-year-old Raysean White, said he saw Blake scuffling with three officers and heard them yell, "Drop the knife! Drop the knife!" before the gunfire erupted. He said he didn't see a knife in Blake's hands.

7
Total no. of shots that can be heard in the video

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