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Hundreds of people took to the streets in Raleigh, North Carolina Monday after local police fatally shot Akiel Denkins, a Black man whose mother said witnesses told her he was unarmed when a white officer shot him several times while he was running away from police in a foot pursuit.
“He was running away,” Denkins’ mother Rolanda Byrd told ABC11. “They couldn't catch him so they shot at him seven times.”
Vigil for #AkielDenkins who was shot & killed today by a Raleigh police officer. Shooting under investigation #WRAL pic.twitter.com/m7vNH6NsPa
— Julia Sims (@WRALJulia) March 1, 2016
Denkins, 24-years-old and the father of two, had a warrant out for his arrest over felony drug charges.
Due to conflicting reports, it remains unclear whether or not Denkins was armed while running from the cops.
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While Byrd says Denkins was unarmed and that there were at least 40 witnesses of the fatal shooting, Raleigh police Chief Cassandra Deck Brown told local media that a gun was found on the scene near the victim.
@MisterMetokur Have you seen #AkilDenkins and #AkielDenkins? Looks like Raleigh, North Carolina is the next BLM site pic.twitter.com/Zidt9qluNm
— Tazer SSwift (@CrashnDaPlane) February 29, 2016
“Everybody out here said he was running, didn't have a gun, (was) trying to jump a fence, and that officer shot my son seven times,” Byrd told WRAL. “For what? For nothing.”
After the shooting, demonstrators gathered for a vigil with chants of “Black Lives Matter.” According to WRAL, Denkins was well-known in the community.
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The North Carolina NAACP has called for a “full and thorough investigation.” The ACLU of North Carolina also responded to the incident, putting it into the broader context of the crisis of police brutality across the U.S.
"This is our Chicago, this is our New York, this is our Cleveland!"
— Joel Brown (@JoelBrownABC11) March 1, 2016
Rally continues in SE Raleigh. #AkielDenkins pic.twitter.com/Y8AQE9eecP
“Along with many community members in Raleigh, we are alarmed by these reports, trying to learn more details about what happened, and express our deepest condolences to Akiel's family,” wrote the organization. “What we do know is that far too many people of color are victims of wrongful targeting and excessive use of force by law enforcement officers across the country, and North Carolina is not immune to that reality.”
According to local media, Raleigh city council was scheduled to discuss the use of body cameras by local police on Monday, but the meeting was cancelled in light of the shooting.
The name of the officer behind the shooting has not been released.
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