Updated at 12:40 p.m. ET
NEWS BRIEF Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s police chief says officers gave Keith Lamont Scott, the 43-year-old black man who was killed by an officer Tuesday, multiple warnings to drop his gun before shooting him.
Scott’s family had said he was unarmed, and, in fact, reading a book inside his car when he was shot. But Kerr Putney, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief, said Wednesday officers found a weapon, but no book, at the scene of the shooting. He could not say if Scott had pointed the weapon at officers at the time of the incident. The officer who shot Scott, Brentley Vinson, is also black, and was not wearing a body camera at the time of the incident, Putney said.
“It’s time to change the narrative,” Putney said. “Because I can tell you from the facts that the story is a little bit different as to how it’s been portrayed so far, especially through social media.”
Governor Pat McCrory issued a statement in response to the tensions:
McCrory issues statement on Charlotte shooting/protests. #ncpol pic.twitter.com/V9oCk1tVwB
— Colin Campbell (@RaleighReporter) September 21, 2016
The remarks came after overnight protests against Scott’s killing turned heated. Twelve officers were injured in skirmishes with the protesters.