US: Anger Mounts as Police Shoot Youth in Salt Lake City

Police in Utah’s Salt Lake City are investigating the shooting of a teenager by a local police officer on Saturday.

The shooting, which occurred around 8 p.m. local time, led to clashes between bystanders and police, with some throwing rocks at members of law enforcement, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

The victim of the shooting was taken to a hospital.

Selam Mohammad, a witness to the shooting and friend of the man shot, said the victim was involved in a confrontation with another man when police intervened.

He added that the victim was holding a broomstick when the officers arrived.

"They told him to put it down, once, and started shooting him as soon as he turned around," the Salt Lake Tribune quoted Mohammad as saying.

Mohammad added that the teenager was hit in the chest and stomach.

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Detective Greg Wilking confirmed that "shots were fired" by a police officer. He acknowledged that there are "a lot of hostile people upset about what had taken place."

The incident comes amid nationwide outrage at police brutality in the United States. The Black Lives Matter movement has grown in recent years after several unarmed Black people were killed by white police officers, or died while in police custody.