September 23, 2016•Update: September 24, 2016
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
The suspected gunman who shot and killed a protester during the second night of demonstrations in North Carolina’s largest city has been taken into custody, officials said Friday.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police identified the suspect accused of fatally shooting Justin Carr, 26, as Rayquan Borum.
He was arrested earlier in the morning, Police Chief Kerr Putney said, and charged with murder.
Charlotte has turned into the latest flashpoint of mass demonstrations after police fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott on Tuesday. Police have said Scott was shot after he refused to drop a gun following multiple orders to do so, but his family has said he was carrying a book during the confrontation.
The vast disparities in the accounts may be resolved by video footage. Police said two cameras captured the incident, including a body camera and a police car dashboard camera.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief Kerr Putney said he favors releasing the footage, but only when it can be part of a comprehensive package that incorporates all aspects of Scott's fatal shooting.
"It's a matter of when," he said at a news conference.
Scott's family was shown the footage Thursday, and has demanded it be made public.
His wife, Rakeyia Scott, released mobile phone footage of the incident Friday, but it does not clearly show the moment when her husband was shot.
Instead, four shots are heard out of frame. "Did you shoot him? Did you shoot him?,” she cried out.
"He better not be [expletive] dead. He better not be [expletive] dead. I know that [expletive] much," she can be heard yelling. "He better live 'cause he didn't do nothing to them."
Earlier in the two-minute footage, she can be heard urging her husband to comply with the officers’ command.
"Keith, don't let them break the windows! Come on out of the car," she can be heard yelling, "Keith, don't do it!"
"Keith, Keith, Keith — don't you do it!" she says. It's unclear what she was urging her husband to not do.
She also said her husband suffers from a "TBI" -- likely referring to a traumatic brain injury -- and that he just took his medication.
Overnight protests were largely peaceful Thursday, marking a sharp departure from previous nights of anarchy that resulted in mass property damage and violent clashes. Demonstrators were allowed to protest past a declared midnight curfew, but three individuals were arrested.
Officers allowed demonstrators who violated the curfew to continue as long as they remained peaceful, according to Police Capt. Mike Campagna.
A minor confrontation ensued when protesters again tried to block a major highway, prompting police to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Earlier nights of protest turned violent, particularly Wednesday when individuals looted, set fires on city streets and damaged property throughout downtown Charlotte.
