A man was fatally shot by a police officer while in his vehicle Wednesday night in the midwestern state of Minnesota.
Friends and family have told local media that the man was Philando Castile, a black 32-year-old public school employee who was pronounced dead minutes after arriving at the hospital. Authorities have not confirmed his identity.
A woman and a 7-year-old child were also in the car and have been taken into police custody.
A video posted online by the girlfriend of the victim has not been confirmed by police to be of the same incident. The man in the video was already shot and bleeding, slumped in the driver's seat when filming began. The girlfriend is heard on the video saying that the victim told police he had a pistol on him and carried a permit for it, and was told to stop reaching for his wallet by the officer. As the man was putting his hands up he was shot "four or five times", according to the woman.
The St. Anthony, Minnesota Police Department, which covers the community of Falcon Heights where the shooting took place, released a statement saying that the officer in question had been put on "standard" paid leave, but did not elaborate on the incident. Interim police chief Jon Mangseth read the brief statement at a press briefing early Thursday and did not take any questions.
Just one day earlier, Alton Sterling, a black man, was fatally shot by police in the southern state of Louisiana. Videos of the incident have circulated online and sparked nationwide outrage as well as protests and vigils in the city of Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana.
