Vigil for black man killed by white officer in Texas thrown into chaos as white gunman arrives ‘to protect my city'
A vigil on Sunday night for a black man shot and killed by a white police officer in Texas descended into chaos when an armed white gunman arrived “to protect my city”.
Jonathan Price, a 31-year-old motivational speaker, who worked for his hometown of Wolfe City, died on Saturday evening after a confrontation with Officer Shaun Lucas.
Friends of Price say he was intervening in a domestic disturbance at a convenience store when the officer shot him. Lucas on Monday was charged with murder.
Hundreds of people on Sunday night gathered in Wolfe City, a city of about 1,400 roughly 70 miles northeast of Dallas, for a candlelit vigil in memory of Price.
But as the evening wore on, a white man armed with an AR-15 type assault rifle arrived on the scene.
Mourners angrily confronted the gunman, yelling at him to leave.
The moment an armed man appeared after the Jonathan Price vigil in Wolfe City. Things got out of control after he showed up with his firearm. Several protesters tried to tranquilize the situation. Police arrived minutes later, no arrests were made. pic.twitter.com/7JFsuVkDtv
— Benjamin Diez (@benjamindiez_) October 6, 2020
Videos posted on social media appeared to show coordinators of the vigil, in Black Lives Matter t-shirts, attempting to persuade the gunman to leave the scene.
Hot-headed younger people attempted to confront the gunman, but were restrained by their friends and blocked by the other mourners.
Police arrived, and the gunman spoke to sheriffs away from a crowd, who were yelling: “Arrest him!”
The gunman could be heard saying: “I never pointed my gun at anyone. I’m just here to protect my city.”
No arrests were made, and the vigil ended peacefully.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE
Tensions remained high after police arrived. Protesters wanted the armed man arrested. The man would be allowed to drive away after a long talk with local police in Wolfe City. #JonathanPrice pic.twitter.com/XjHtAqOAv1
— Benjamin Diez (@benjamindiez_) October 6, 2020
Lucas is currently being held on a $1 million bond.
Texas Rangers said in a statement detailing Saturday night’s shooting that Price “resisted in a nonthreatening posture and began walking away”.
Lucas fired a Taser before “discharging his service weapon striking” Price.
Price was taken to Hunt Regional Hospital, where he died.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that the actions of Officer Lucas were not objectionably reasonable,” the Texas Rangers said.
“The Texas Rangers have charged Officer Lucas with the offense of murder and booked him into the Hunt County Jail.”
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