Image: Pixabay African American man shot in back by Wisconsin Police, hospitalized in serious condition
Moscow/Sputnik: An African-American man was severely injured and hospitalized in a serious condition after being shot in the back by Wisconsin police at close range in the US city of Kenosha, sparkling protests, media and officials said on Monday.
According to the Kenosha News daily, the man, identified as Jacob Blake, was trying to break up a fight between two women. The police officers reportedly attempted to use a Taser on the man before shooting. The eyewitnesses heard at least seven gunshots. The incident took place in front of the victim's children.
"At 5:11 pm [22:11 Sunday] Kenosha Police Officers were sent to the 2800 block of 40th Street for a domestic incident and were involved in an officer involved shooting. Officers provided immediate aid to the person. The person was transported via Flight for Life to Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee. The person is in serious condition," the Kenosha Police Department said in a statement.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said that Blake had been shot in the back several times and wished him a speedy recovery.
"While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country," Evers wrote on Twitter.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, angered residents took to the streets of Kenosha following the news. Law enforcement officers pushed the protesters back from the police department building and used tear gas. The authorities have declared a city-wide curfew.
Many cities across the United States have been hit by a wave of civil rights protests that have continued for more than two months following the May 25 police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American male, in the city of Minneapolis.
Activists in many US states have been calling to defund police departments.
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