Minnesota National Guardsmen hurt in drive-by shooting hours after Rep Waters ‘incites BLM riots’ during Chauvin trial
TWO Minnesota National Guards were hurt in a drive-by shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The shooting came hours after Democratic California Rep Maxine Waters told protesters to “get more confrontational” if Derek Chauvin is acquitted of murder charges in his trial over the death of George Floyd.
According to a statement from the Minnesota National Guard, around 4:20am, someone in “a light-colored SUV fired several shots” at a team of National Guard and Minneapolis Police Department members near Penn Avenue and Broadway.
Two National Guard members were injured in the events, according to a statement.
“One Guardsman sustain an injury from shattered glass requiring additional care and was taken to a local hospital to receive treatment for injuries sustained,” the National Guard said in a statement.
“The other Guardsman received only superficial injuries. No further information is available at this time.”
Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke, the Minnesota National Guard Adjutant General, said he’s “relieved” that none of the guards “were seriously injured.”
“This event highlights the volatility and tension in our communities right now,” Manke said.
“I ask for peace as we work through this difficult time.”
Teams with “Operation Safety Net” have been active throughout Chauvin’s trial to provide security.
Demonstrators have gathered to protest against the shooting of Floyd amid Chauvin’s trial.
In the suburb of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, protestors gathered after the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright.
Wright was fatally shot by a cop during a traffic stop.
Last summer, Waters herself jumped out of her car to aid a black man who was being detained by cops at a traffic stop.
Waters is an advocate of police reform.
As Waters joined the seventh consecutive night of protests in Brooklyn Center, she told reporters if ex-cop Chauvin isn’t found guilty of murdering Floyd, “we’ve got to stay on the street”.
She said: “We’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational.
“We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.”
Waters said she was “hopeful” Chauvin would be convicted of murder, but if he isn’t, “we cannot go away”.
She added: “We’ve got to fight for justice,” she added, saying she is pressing for a police reform bill to be passed in Congress.
But she said Republicans would likely stand in the way.
We’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational.
Maxine Waters
She reportedly said she plans to stay in Minnesota until Monday when closing arguments are expected in the Chauvin trial, according to New York Times reporter Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs.
Waters, a Democrat from California, was speaking to a crowd of nearly 300 people outside the Brooklyn Center Police Station.
Protesters have gathered every night since the killing of Wright in a neighborhood about 10 miles north of Minneapolis.
Unlike Friday night, when police in riot gear moved to disperse what was declared an unlawful demonstration and arrested at least 100 people — including some journalists — Saturday’s gathering appeared to remain peaceful.
Protesters stood alongside the chain-link fence around the police station, chanting “Shut It Down” and waving “Black Lives Matter” flags, but did not appear to try to breach the barrier.
One protester, Joel Reeves, said: “I’m here because we are tired of police brutality.
“We are tired of seeing unarmed black men lose their lives for no reason.”
Hundreds marched through the streets of Chicago on Friday to protest the police shooting of Adam Toledo,.
This came a day after the city released a graphic video of a police officer shooting and killing the 13-year-old Latino boy in an alley two weeks ago. Demonstrators chanted “Hands up, don’t shoot!” and “No justice, no peace!”
Meanwhile tensions has been boiling over after the shooting of Daunte Wright, 20,.
He was shot after the officer meant to use a Taser, but mistakenly drew her gun instead, Chief Tim Gannon told reporters.
The officer was later named as Kim Potter who has worked for Brooklyn Center Police for 26 years.
Potter was arrested Wednesday on manslaughter charges and faces up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
The previous evening, journalists covering the protest said police impeded their work and used pepper spray against some members of the media who had identified themselves as such.
The alleged mistreatment came despite a temporary restraining order signed earlier on Friday by US District Judge Wilhelmina Wright.
This bans the police from arresting journalists or targeting them with flash-bang grenades, non-lethal projectiles, riot batons and chemical agents including pepper spray.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he had held a meeting Saturday with journalists and law enforcement officers.
He tweeted: “A free press is foundational to our democracy.
“I convened a meeting today with media and law enforcement to determine a better path forward to protect the journalists covering civil unrest.”
Tensions are running especially high in Minneapolis this weekend with closing arguments expected tomorrow in the closely watched trial of Chauvin.
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Clashes have included demonstrators throwing objects at police. Police arrested more than 100 people on Friday but it was unclear if any arrests were made Saturday.
Waters reportedly left the protest shortly before the curfew took effect.
But a small crowd remained defiant after the curfew began.