Minneapolis police say 5 shot near protest scene

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Police searched Tuesday for three gunmen suspected of shooting five Black Lives Matter demonstrators, while the family of a man whose death inspired the protests called for an end to demonstrations that have gone on for days outside a Minneapolis police station.

No one was seriously hurt in Monday night’s shooting. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, which took place about a block from the police department’s 4th Precinct, where protesters have been demonstrating since the Nov. 15 death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark, who was shot by a police officer.

Authorities had no one in custody and asked the public for help identifying the suspects.

Henry Habu, who said he has been providing security for protesters, said he and others approached four white people who were standing under a “Justice4Jamar” sign to ask what they were doing there. The group was composed of three men and one woman, with three of them wearing masks that left their eyes exposed.

“We’re here for Jamar,” one said, according to Habu.

Habu said they tried to escort the four from the scene and they took off running. Habu said he did not see the shooting that followed, but heard it.

“It happened so fast,” he said.

Oluchi Omeoga witnessed the shooting and said a handful of protesters followed three men in masks to a street corner, where the men pulled out weapons and began firing.

Two people were shot in the leg, another in the arm and a fourth in the stomach, said Mica Grimm, an organizer with Black Lives Matter who said she arrived on the scene soon after the shooting.

In a statement released early Tuesday through U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison’s office, Clark’s family thanked protesters for their “incredible support” but asked, in light of the shootings, that the demonstration outside the precinct offices end and protesters move “onto the next step.”

Demonstrators planned to announce their next step later Tuesday following a meeting with community members about strategy.

On Tuesday morning, about 50 protesters were outside of the 4th Precinct, and more were trickling in. Some said they planned to stay despite the Clark family’s request.

Habu said a crowd gathered around the shooting scene and police used a chemical irritant to push them back. Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder did not immediately respond to a question about the use of any chemical irritant.

Authorities have said Clark was shot during a struggle with police after he interfered with paramedics who were trying to assist an assault victim. But some people who said they saw the shooting allege Clark was handcuffed.

Protesters and Clark’s family have called for investigators to release video of the shooting. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it has video from the ambulance, a mobile police camera and other sources, but none of the footage shows the event in its entirety. The agency, which is conducting a state investigation, said releasing the footage now would taint its investigation.

A federal criminal civil rights investigation is also underway to determine whether police intentionally violated Clark’s civil rights through excessive force.