5 injured as 4 open fire during protest

Minneapolis gunfire unsettles crowd

A demonstrator speaks about his encounter with attackers who were shooting at five protesters near the Minneapolis Police 4th Precinct earlier in the night, as protesters gather in front of the precinct in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015.
A demonstrator speaks about his encounter with attackers who were shooting at five protesters near the Minneapolis Police 4th Precinct earlier in the night, as protesters gather in front of the precinct in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Protesters demanding justice for a black man fatally shot by Minneapolis police were settling in for their ninth night of demonstrations Monday when something didn't seem right.

Lingering in the crowd were four people who seemed out of place. They were asked to leave. Moments later, shots rang out about a block away.

"I really did think it was like firecrackers or something initially because it was so loud, and there was like this acrid smell," protester Jie Wronski-Riley said. "I thought, 'surely, they are not shooting at us.'"

Then Wronski-Riley heard the cries of wounded people on the ground.

"I really understood the danger we were in and what had happened," Wronski-Riley said.

Police say five people were shot in the attack, which unfolded late Monday near a police precinct where dozens of protesters have been camped out since the Nov. 15 fatal shooting of Jamar Clark. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

Authorities arrested a 23-year-old white man, who remained in custody Tuesday evening, and a 32-year-old Hispanic man, who was later released. Two other men -- both white, ages 26 and 21 -- surrendered to police Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, Clark was shot after he struggled with officers. But some people, who said they saw the shooting, said the 24-year-old was handcuffed.

Mike Freeman, the attorney for Hennepin County, said it will be up to a grand jury to decide whether to file charges against officers in Clark's death.

Freeman issued a statement Tuesday after repeated requests by black activist groups to make the decision himself rather than leave it to a grand jury. Protesters have complained that grand juries are unlikely to indict police officers.

At least one member of Clark's family asked Tuesday for the protests to end. But demonstrators said they would not be intimidated or "bow to fear."

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but several racially disparaging comments had been posted on social media in recent days. One video showed a white man brandishing a gun while claiming to be on his way to the protests. Police issued a warning Friday night, asking demonstrators to be vigilant and report any suspicious behavior to authorities.

The protesters had a safety plan, and security team members had been asking people who looked like troublemakers to leave.

Fourteen people whom protesters believed to be white supremacists were kicked out of the area one night, said Mica Grimm, an organizer of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis. She said they arrived with their faces covered and filmed the crowd but would not talk to people. Some made racially biased comments.

Grimm said protesters had been threatened by one group online and had been working with hackers to figure out the group's plans. On one night, Grimm said, online chatter included a post stating that a pie had been left at the protest site with rat poison.

"We made sure that all the pies were thrown out, and actually other food was thrown out for fear of contamination," she said.

Grimm said concerns were raised with police, but protesters felt that the threats were not being taken seriously.

The situation escalated Monday night when members of the protesters' security team approached three men and one woman who were standing under a "Justice4Jamar" sign and asked what they were doing.

"We're here for Jamar," one said, according to Henry Habu, who had been providing security for the demonstrators.

Habu said he and others tried to escort the four away from the protest, and they took off running. He and others said at least three members of the group were wearing masks that covered the lower half of their faces.

Alexander Dewan Apprentice Clark, who said he chased the attackers, said one of the men fell and when Clark helped him up, he felt what he believed to be a bullet-resistant vest under the man's clothing.

Wronski-Riley, who is also on the security team, said most of the crowd stopped following the men about midway up the street, but a few protesters gave chase. Wronski-Riley and a friend followed to make sure everyone returned safely. After running about another half-block, the attackers started shooting.

"It was so busy and chaotic," Wronski-Riley said.

One wounded man had been shot in the back of the leg and was crawling in the street, Wronski-Riley said. Another, who had been shot in the arm, was yelling that his limb was numb and he needed help.

Some protesters criticized the police response time and said officers arrived in full riot gear. Officers aggressively pushed back on the crowd, Wronski-Riley said, at one point using a chemical irritant to keep people back.

"They can't kill the sense of community that I'm building," Wronski-Riley said.

Police did not answer questions about their response to the shootings nor about their response to previous reports of suspicious behavior.

A Section on 11/25/2015

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