Mobs rioted in Memphis and attacked police on Wednesday night after 20-year-old Brandon Webber was shot and killed by police for allegedly ramming them with his vehicle and exiting his car with a weapon.
Webber, whom the media is highlighting was an “honors student,” said on Facebook Live in a reportedly now-deleted video that police “gone have to kill me” hours before he was shot.
Webber was wanted by police for allegedly “cold-bloodedly” shooting a man 5 times on June 3 and stealing his car.
😐 A video of #BrandonWebber on Facebook LIVE a few hours before the shooting has surfaced the internet and has many people feeling like there’s holes in the stories going around.
Regardless of what went down, our condolences are with the family and friends of Mr. Webber. pic.twitter.com/G5kqC4q135
— WhatsSleepTV.com 😴 (@WhatsSleepTV) June 14, 2019
Extended video of his Facebook Live stream shows it started with Webber lighting up a blunt and ended with him talking about how the police “gonna have to kill me homie.”
“I ain’t even gonna lie, Ima do they ass so bad,” Webber added before bursting into laughter.
The pregnant girlfriend of a 20-year-old black man who was shot dead by U.S. Marshals during an attempted arrest outside his family’s home went into labor as riots broke out in the streets of the working-class Memphis neighborhood where he was killed.
Brandon Webber was shot and killed by officers on Wednesday night as they tried to arrest him for multiple warrants, including violent felony offenses, outside his home in Frayser in North Memphis.
Webber, who has a two-year-old son, was shot between 16 and 20 times, according to his father Sonny Webber. Authorities have not confirmed what his felony warrants were or how many gunshots were fired.
[…] Public records show that Webber was arrested five times, for driving violations and on charges that included possession of drug paraphernalia and marijuana.
Shortly before he was shot on Wednesday, Webber posted a live video on Facebook that showed him in a car, rapping and apparently smoking a marijuana cigarette. In the video, he looked out the window and said he saw police.
With a laugh, he looked directly into the camera and said the officers would ‘have to kill me.’ The video appeared to have been removed from his Facebook page late Thursday morning.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations said officers went to his home at about 7pm to look for Webber who had outstanding warrants, including the violent felony offense that occurred on June 3.
Officers said they saw Webber get into a vehicle and that he then proceeded to ram task force vehicles several times before exiting with a weapon. Marshals then opened fire on Webber. He died at the scene, according to officers.
CNN reported Thursday that 36 officers were injured after what they referred to as “demonstrators” reportedly “threw bricks at police and vandalized squad cars.”
“All those hospitalized have been released,” CNN reported. “Three people have been charged with disorderly conduct and one of them also with inciting a riot.”
Video shared on social media showed rioters smashing up a cop car as police stood by and watched:
Just saw 2 guys smash a police car with a chair. @3onyourside pic.twitter.com/Am5dcL2V5i
— Luke Jones (@LukeJonesTV) June 13, 2019
A local news reporter was allegedly violently attacked:
REPORTER ATTACKED: Memphis journalists @LukeJonesTV was reportedly knocked to the ground while covering a violent protest surrounding a police-involved shooting.
Luke tweeted that he suffered a contusion and that “all is well.”
(Courtesy: Destiny Davis/Facebook) pic.twitter.com/4JuTc3QEve
— Michael Quander WUSA (@MikeQReports) June 13, 2019
NewsNowMemphis captured footage of several rioters hurling objects at police:
A few in the crowd now throwing things (not sure what) at officers who have again formed a wall. @3onyourside pic.twitter.com/xhwVXqotys
— Luke Jones (@LukeJonesTV) June 13, 2019
You could hear something being fired (not sure what). Sent crowd running briefly. Sounds like maybe police are trying to disperse crowd. @3onyourside pic.twitter.com/tP3EkKIrN7
— Luke Jones (@LukeJonesTV) June 13, 2019
According to the media, the real story here was an “honors student” with a “pregnant girlfriend” being shot by police just for being black.
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