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Baton Rouge: Vigils Continue for Alton Sterling, Killed by Police

HeadlineJul 07, 2016

Meanwhile, protests and vigils continue in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for African-American father of five Alton Sterling, who was shot dead by police while pinned to the ground early Tuesday morning. More than 300 protesters held a vigil last night outside the convenience store where Sterling was killed. Protests also spread to Ferguson, Missouri, and to Philadelphia, where protesters were arrested after blocking rush-hour traffic by lying down across Interstate 676. This comes as a second video showing the fatal police shooting was released online. The video shows Sterling pinned to the ground by two white police officers. One of the officers then shoots Sterling at least twice. The audio then captures the sound of multiple additional gunshots. On Wednesday, Sandra Sterling, Alton’s aunt, spoke out.

Sandra Sterling: “It’s hard. It’s hard.”

Unidentified: “She passed out twice already.”

Sandra Sterling: “That’s because I saw the second video. I didn’t know my child, he was alive. He was alive after he got shot. He was reaching out. It was horrible. I don’t ever want to see that again, ever.”

Reporter: “You saw that second video?”

Sandra Sterling: “Yeah.”

Reporter: “What does that second video tell you?”

Sandra Sterling: “That they sat there and watched my child die. They sat there and watched him die. They sat there and watched him take his last breath. And I’m mad, and I’m angry.”

We’ll go to Baton Rouge and Minneapolis after headlines.

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