In the wake of a Tuesday police shooting that sparked protests at the home of the chief of police and in the downtown area of North Carolina's capital city, Raleigh, NC, police late Wednesday released body camera video of the incident.
The video appears to show the suspect—26-year-old Javier Torres—with a handgun in his right hand at the time when a Raleigh officer shot him.
Police said they responded to a call about a man with a gun at about 6:40 p.m. Tuesday.
The caller said the man was “flashing” a gun with several other men and had walked to a nearby Sheetz convenience store, according to a recording of the 911 call released Wednesday morning by police.
Torres was shot once following a brief foot pursuit. He reportedly took off running when police arrived.
The video shows Torres had a pizza box from a nearby Italian restaurant in his hand and police say a handgun in his waistband when he fled from responding officers.
Police successfully asked a judge to allow release of the video amid rumors about the shooting. Early accounts spread on Twitter and other social media said police had shot a teenager in the back as he ran from them carrying a pizza, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.
Based in part on those accounts, protesters gathered outside the homes of Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown and Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin on Tuesday night and marched through downtown. Outside the North Carolina Executive Mansion, protesters pulled down and burned the U.S. and state flags.
Torres survived the shooting. He faces charges of “going armed to the terror of the public,” resisting arrest and altering or removing the serial number from a gun.
