One person shot during protest in North Carolina as Governor declares state of emergency

US: North Carolina Governor has declared a state of emergency in Charlotte after one person was shot by another citizen during a violent protests in a second night of unrest in the southern US city of Charlotte, officials said.

Charlotte Police Chief Kerr Putney had initially said the person died but the City of Charlotte later tweeted that the person had not died and was on life support in critical condition.

The City of Charlotte also tweeted that it was a “civilian on civilian” shooting and police did not fire the shot.

The shooting occurred as police in riot gear fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters demonstrating against the fatal police shooting of a black man who officers said had refused their orders to drop a handgun.

Governor Pat McCrory said he was providing assets tot the police department by declaring the state of emergency.

The violence started with a peaceful rally when several hundreds of demonstrators marched through downtown with brief stops at a black church, police headquarters and a large entertainment venue called the Epicentre.

As they marched downtown Charlotte’s central intersection, demonstrators confronted a convoy of patrol cars and officers lining the road about a block from the Omni Charlotte Hotel, and started surrounding groups of police and their vehicles.

The police at that point, released volleys of rubber bullets, tear gas and flash- bang grenades to disperse the protesters, who began throwing fireworks and debris at officers outside the hotel.

Reports say some protesters were seen smashing the window of a convenience store and looting it.

Several hundred people derided riot police in front of a hotel in the city centre, during which a man fell to the ground.

One witnesses said police brought the man into the hotel after he fell, leaving blood on the sidewalk.

Sixteen police officers were wounded late Tuesday and early Wednesday as police in riot gear clashed with demonstrators who hurled stones, set fires and briefly blocked an interstate highway.

Protesters tend to a seriously woundedman

A longtime community activist, Blanche Penn, at Wednesday evening’s rally, where the protest started as resolute but peaceful, said;

“We are tired of people, especially police, killing our black men,”

“Charlotte has always been quiet. But now it’s time to be loud.”

Some protesters were seen striking glass windows, as others threw objects at police and stood on cars as police fired tear gas, causing demonstrators to run.

“We are calling for peace, we are calling for calm, we are calling for dialogue,” Mayor Jennifer Roberts said earlier in the day. “We all see this as a tragedy.”

Protesters put cargo from tractor trailers on a fire on the Interstate 85 on Wednesday.

Police shot dead Keith Lamont Scott, 43, in an apartment complex parking lot on Tuesday after an encounter with officers searching for a suspect wanted for arrest.

The authorities said 16 officers and several protesters were wounded in clashes Tuesday night after Scott’s death, which is the latest in a string of police-involved killings of black men that have caused public outrage across the United States.

Residents gather for a vigil and march to protest Keith Scott's death on Wednesday.

According to police, Keith Scott was armed and ignoring officers’ orders when he was gunned down, while the victim’s family and a witness said he was holding a book, not a weapon.

Scott’s wife, Rakeyia, later issued a statement describing her family as “devastated” and appealing for calm, adding, that “we have more questions than answers about Keith’s death.”

Students lie-in at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte on Wednesday.

Residents gather for a vigil and march on Wednesday