*Damn, damn, damn. Here we go again. Cell phone video of a cop shooting and killing a man outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, LA has surfaced and is going viral after an anonymous caller said the man had A gun.
Video from an eye-witness to the event appears to show Alton Sterling, 37, being shot by police officers as he is pinned to the ground by them.
The Baton Rouge Police Department said uniformed officers responded to a call shortly after midnight Tuesday about a black male in a red shirt who was selling CDs and had reportedly threatened the caller with a gun.
The killing sparked protests that continued outside the store, 24 hours after authorities shot Sterling. More than 100 demonstrators shouting “no justice, no peace” jammed the street, setting off fireworks and blocking an intersection to protest Sterling’s death.
The 48-second cell phone video of the killing outside Triple S. Food Mart shows two police officers tackling and wrestling a heavy-set man in a red shirt against the hood of a car before throwing him to the pavement.
“He’s got a gun,” one officer cries while the pair pinned Sterling to the ground.
“You f—–g move, I swear to God,” the other cop yells, before the two draw their weapons. The terrified bystander turns the camera phone away as five shots ring out — two of which a coroner said struck Sterling in the chest and back.
“They shot him?” a man’s startled voice says in the video. “Yes,” a woman replies between sobs.
The Baton Rouge police department says the two officers have been placed on administration leave “per standard procedure.”
According to East Baton Rouge Coroner Dr. William Clark, Sterling died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back. However, Clark would not confirm reports that Sterling was shot seven times.
The president of the NAACP, Cornell Brooks, called video of the incident hard to watch — but “far harder” to ignore.
Get MORE of this story at NBC News.
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