Man rams car into protesters at 100mph, kills one at Winston Smith shooting site
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: A group of people was reportedly attacked by a driver in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while they were demonstrating at the site where Black man Winston 'Boogie' Smith was shot dead by police officers. The alleged incident happened on Sunday, June 13, when the suspect crashed into protesters, killing one and sending another one in “very critical” condition.
According to reports, the demonstrators had gathered outside a parking garage where 32-year-old Smith was killed earlier this month. He was fatally gunned down only blocks from George Floyd Square after he resisted arrest and pulled a gun on US marshals. They were reportedly trying to take him into custody on a federal warrant for possession of a firearm. "Evidence at the scene indicates that the man fired his weapon from inside the vehicle. BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun as well as spent cartridge cases from inside the driver’s compartment," the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a statement after his death on June 3.
RELATED ARTICLES
Who was Winston Smith? 'Armed' Minneapolis man killed by US Marshals during arrest
Winston Smith asked peaceful BLM protesters to ‘get ready for war, bring guns’
It has been said that Smith, who was a convicted felon and had been arrested 20 times since 2007, has become a mascot for activists. And, while people were elevating a shrine for him on late Sunday night, the accused driver plowed his vehicle into them. However, he was taken out of the car by demonstrators before police detained him. A protester made the video, which showed the driver being held aggressively while blood pours down his forehead.
The person who took the video shared it on Instagram with the username lavishmack. In the caption, he wrote, “MAN DRIVES INTO US 100 MPH HITTING 3 PEOPLE. I have never something this horrific. Today was one of the most peaceful and happy moments out here holding space for Winston. We were playing volley ball and green light red light. @deonamarie16 was sitting down on the ground as a man drove Atleast 100 MPH into us hitting her car and and her. I can’t believe this.”
He continued, “Police showed in 2 mins but no Ambulance for Atleast 5 more mins. They hopped out 15 cars all with their mace out, we screaming for them to arrest... @deonamarie16 is literally the sweetest human I have interacted with! Last couple of days we been talking about health, veganism and her recovery! I can’t believe this.”
The video also showed the driver pleading for police as the protester said to him, “'You're going down boy, you're going down, it's over. You b***h.” The accused added, “I did not mean to.” Meanwhile, authorities have said that they arrested a suspect, but did not disclose his identity or the motive behind the alleged attack.
Several people on the social media reacted to the incident as one user commented, “The cop you gave a statement to didn’t write anything down, his body cam wasn’t on either. These cops are shady as s**t. Prayers out to the young girl.” Another user wrote, “The fact that they police don’t care and would rather cause problems with citizens that aren’t being violent. Police pay should be awarded only with a ratio to the amount of complaints and misconduct. Then maybe they would have an incentive to do their job and stop siphoning money from trusting taxpayers. Emergency life support could have been applied to the situation sooner.” “This is insane,” the third added.