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At least five U.S. cops wounded by gunfire overnight

Video Credit: Reuters Studio - Duration: 02:53s - Published
At least five U.S. cops wounded by gunfire overnight

At least five U.S. cops wounded by gunfire overnight

At least five U.S. police officers were hit by gunfire during violent protests following the death of a black man in police custody, police and media reported.

Jillian Kitchener has more.

At least five police officers across the U.S. were injured by gunfire at demonstrations on Monday night, as protests turn increasingly dangerous for both cops and civilians.

The chief of the Las Vegas Police Department said last night officers confronted protesters outside a casino, where one of his officers was shot in the head.

"Officers were attempting to get some of the protesters into custody when a shot rang out, and our officer went down.

The officer was transported to University Medical Center in critical condition." The police chief said a suspect was identified and taken into custody.

In another incident on Monday, Vegas police shot and killed a man they said approached officers outside a federal building.

"At approximately 11:22 pm officers encountered a subject who was armed with multiple firearms, and appeared to be wearing body armor.

During the interaction, the subject reached for his firearm, and officers engaged him." Vegas has seen several days of protests, much of it peaceful.

Earlier in the day one activists shook officers' hands.

The demonstrations were touched off after George Floyd, a black resident of Minneapolis, died following his arrest by a white cop.

Video showed the officer grinding his knee into Floyd's back.

The cop was fired and charged with third-degree murder, but protests demanding police reforms have sprung up nationwide.

Some have spurred looting and lawlessness.

In Missouri, four police officers were wounded by gunfire Monday night.

The city's chief of police made a tearful plea for calm.

"So some coward, fired shots on officers, and now we have four in the hospital.

And thankfully, and thank God, they're alive.

Can we make some sense out of this?

Can we make some sense out of this?

That's all I'm trying to say.

Mr. Floyd's death is tragic.

But can we make some, out of something?" In a separate incident also in St.

Louis, police responding to a report of looting got into a car chase, and said they traded bullets with suspects.

A 21-year-old was wounded and taken to the hospital.

No officers were injured.

A police shooting in Louisville, Kentucky over the weekend further roiled that city, already beset unrest.

Cops and national guardsmen fired into a crowd protesting police brutality, killing the 53-year-old proprietor of a barbecue restaurant.

Lousiville's mayor said two cops and two guardsmen used their weapons after they thought someone had fired at them.

The mayor fired the chief of police Monday and placed two cops on leave after learning their body cameras were switched off during the incident.




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