Photo depicting footage of the shooting: Reuters
A 28-year-old man who was pushing his fiancée in a wheelchair at a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas, has been shot dead. While details of the incident are still sketchy witnesses describe a car driving into a crowd of protestors and as protestors approached the car shots rang out. It appears as though the shots were fired by whoever was inside the car.
The deceased man has been identified as Garrett Foster who was taken to hospital following the shooting but was later declared dead. The driver was arrested but has since been released from custody. It is thought the driver himself phoned 911, thereby suggesting that this was not a pre-planned attack on BLM protestors.
This is Garrett Foster, the activist who was gunned down in Austin TX tonight. Rest in power ✊🏾#AustinProtest #GarrettFoster pic.twitter.com/Netxg2XEdR
— Oskaer 🧬 🇸🇴 (@Oskaer__13) July 26, 2020
Reports indicate that Mr. Foster was himself armed with an AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle and some have said he pointed the rifle at the driver before the shots were heard, although these reports remain unconfirmed. It is also suggested that a second volley of shots were unleashed by protestors against the man in the car though he seems to not have sustained any injuries. Laws in Texas make it permissible for an individual to openly carry an assault weapon, and many on protests and counter-protests have been seen to be doing so.
Black Lives Matter protests which have been taking place for months following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, have in recent weeks become more prominent after a slight abatement in early July.
In Portland, Oregon, protests have now taken place for 58 days in a row and large diverse crowds have been increasing in size over that time-frame. Federal officers have now been called in to take on these protests despite the opposition of local and state politicians in Oregon.
Mr. Foster's mother, Sheila Foster, told ABC's Good Morning America that both her son and his fiancée had been involved in the protests in Austin for over 50 days. According to the BBC, she stated:
"He was doing it because he felt really strongly about justice and he was very heavily against police brutality, and he wanted to support his fiancée. His fiancée is African-American."
This moment is another tragic event in what is the United States' most riotous year since 1968 and certainly the year that has seen the greatest number of crises in modern US history.
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