Protests after fatal police shooting in Louisiana

Protests broke out in Baton Rouge, La. after the fatal shooting of a black man by police officers early Tuesday morning.

{mosads}The Baton Rouge Police Department wrote in a Facebook post that Alton Sterling, 37, was shot and killed after an altercation with officers outside a convenience store.

“Uniformed officers responded to a disturbance call from a complainant who stated that a black male who was selling music cd’s and wearing a red shirt threatened him with a gun,” the post reads.

A cell phone video purporting to show the incident that made the rounds on social media on Tuesday appears to show an officer shooting at least one round into Sterling’s chest before Sterling is tackled and wrestled to the ground by another officer.

Restraining Sterling on the ground, one of the officers yells, “He’s got a gun,” before several more shots are fired.

One witness told The Advocate that the police later retrieved a gun from Sterling’s pocket. Police officials have not yet confirmed that Sterling was armed.

By Tuesday night, around 100 protesters had gathered outside the convenience store, carrying signs and chanting, “black lives matter” and “hands up, don’t shoot.”

Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), who represents Baton Rouge, released a statement calling on the Justice Department to investigate the shooting.

“There are a number of unanswered questions surrounding Mr. Sterling’s death,” Richmond said. “Including questions about the initial calls for police presence, the level of force used by officers, the verbal and physical altercation, and the response of the officers after he was shot. I call on the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a full and transparent investigation into this incident.” 

 –This report was updated at 7:38 a.m.