Violence and protests erupted in Milwaukee overnight after a man was fatally shot by police during a foot chase.
Police said the victim, 23, was armed with a handgun and shot dead by an officer after fleeing a traffic stop on Milwaukee’s north side Saturday afternoon.
Hours later angry crowds took to the streets, smashing a police car and setting fire to another. One officer was injured by a flying brick; a gas station and auto-parts store were set alight. Police said gunshots were heard.
Gas station at Sherman and Burleigh set on fire. MFD cannot extinguish fire as gunshots are being fired.
— Milwaukee Police (@MilwaukeePolice) August 14, 2016
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett pleaded for calm at an early morning news conference, asking residents to “do everything” to help restore order.
“If you love your son, if you love your daughter, text them, call them, pull them by the ears and get ’em home,” he said.
Police said at least three people had been arrested as of early Sunday.
The initial crowd — estimated at around 100 people — had thinned early Sunday but there were still “a lot of people out,” Milwaukee Assistant Police Chief James Harpole told reporters.
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