After what is being described as "a group of white supremacists" opened fire on protesters near a Black Lives Matter camp in Minneapolis, leaving five wounded, local police are still trying to identify the shooters.
On Nov. 24, police took three white men into custody, two of which turned themselves in voluntarily. A fourth suspect was also released, after investigators found the man was not present at the scene of the shooting.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports :
Minneapolis police said [Nov. 24] that they have arrested three men in connection with the shooting. Allen Lawrence “Lance” Scarsella III, 23, was arrested in Bloomington. Sources said Nathan Gustavsson, 21, of Hermantown, and Daniel Macey, 26, of Pine City, were taken into custody after they turned themselves in. All three suspects are white. Earlier [Nov. 24], police arrested a 32-year-old Hispanic man in south Minneapolis, but he was later released because, police said, he was not at the scene of the shooting.
Authorities are weighing whether to treat [the Nov. 23] shooting as a hate crime, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Protesters were originally gatherered the night of Nov. 23 seeking justice for Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old black man who was shot and killed by police on Nov. 15. Witnesses say Clark was unarmed, handcuffed, and lying on the ground when he was shot in the head, while police maintain he was not handcuffed.
Protests organized by the local chapter of Black Lives Matter organizers in Minneapolis continued on Nov. 24, with inspiration from Assata Shakur and Sam Cooke.
We are not afraid. We have nothing to lose but our chains. #4thPrecinctShutDown pic.twitter.com/N1K5oBRgex
— Black Lives MPLS (@BlackLivesMpls) November 24, 2015 A change is definitely going to come. #4thPrecinctShutDown pic.twitter.com/m8savAVSuI
— Micky Black (@mickynoir) November 24, 2015 The mother of one of the victims of the Nov. 23 shooting marched with protesters holding a sign that read "fear not."
The mother of a victim of last night's shooting is walking around #4thPrecinctShutDown w a "Fear Not" sign. pic.twitter.com/PijSkrqHK6
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) November 25, 2015 Read more at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Ryan Stewart is a teacher in Springfield, Mass., and graduate of Yale Divinity School. You can find him on Twitter @RyanMcStew.
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