UPDATED 09/21/16 9:19 a.m. ET:
Police fired tear gas at protesters who have gathered in the University City area of Charlotte, N.C. late Tuesday evening. The protest started after news broke that a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer shot and killed a man at an apartment complex earlier in the afternoon, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Officers wearing riot gear faced off against shouting protesters on Old Concord Road at Bonnie Lane. Tear gas was fired at around 10:53 p.m. ET when protesters started throwing water bottles at police. A police helicopter monitored what was happening from above.
Here's footage from Twitter of protesters on the ground:
CMPD confirmed at least 12 officers were injured and some were taken to the hospital.
None
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said a full investigation will take place into what happened.
The unrest was in response to news of the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year-old black man from Charlotte. According to a statement by department spokesman Keith Tiretley provided to ABC News, officers went to an apartment building at around 4 p.m. ET to search for a suspect with an outstanding warrant when they encountered Scott inside of his car.
Scott was taken to Carolinas Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Detectives on the scene recovered a firearm, and were interviewing witnesses.
Police say Scott was holding a gun when they approached him. However, Scott's family says he was holding a book, not a firearm. His family also said he was disabled. “The family says the man was not armed, and that he was just simply reading book and waiting for his son to come home from school,” reports Fox 46 News’ Brett Baldeck. You can watch a clip below.
The officer who fired the shot was identified as CMPD Officer Brentley Vinson, who is African American. As a standard procedure, CMPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau will conduct a separate investigation into whether or not CMPD policies and procedures were followed. Vinson will be placed on administrative leave, as per the department's rules of conduct.
As of early Wednesday morning, all lanes of Interstate 85 had been reopened. The road was "still littered with some rocks and glass" following the evening's protests, the Charlotte Observerreported. Of the 12 officers originally reported as injured during the demonstrations, seven of them were reportedly transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. One officer, the Charlotte Observer reported, was believed to have been hit in the face with a rock. Though police have not confirmed how many arrests were made during the protests, local reports currently estimate that as many as five people were taken into custody.
