Chicago: According to an official, two individuals have been killed amid tensions in Cicero, Chicago’s suburb in regards to the protests following the murder of George Floyd, the African-American man last month.
60 people have been booked on Monday, reported city official Ray Hanania. However, additional information concerning the victims or the situation involving their deaths wasn’t disclosed, according to a report from BBC.
A group of police in riot equipment reached the Cermak and South 50th Avenue on Monday night where police said outside protesters shot at least two people in the early hours of the day.
Several people were injured according to the reports from the police. Exact numbers of those affected negatively were not immediately available.
The Illinois State Police and Cook County Sheriff’s Office were asked to aid the local police as businesses reported of stolen items and heavy robberies. The Cicero Police Department has urged residents to stay at their home. They have been advised to be on alert mode due to the ongoing loots.
Amidst the protests raging across the country, atleast three people have been killed in gunfire in Indianapolis, Detroit and Oakland.
The development comes as some 40 cities across the US, including Washington D.C., have imposed curfews and lockdowns to stop the acts of aggression in extensive riots against police brutality and racism spread widely.
Nationwide protests have emerged after George Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old African-American man, died in Minneapolis on May 25. Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, had held him down, kneeling on his neck although he repeatedly pleaded, “I can’t breathe”, and “please, I can’t breathe”. Mr. Floyd got unconscious after requesting the official repetitively to free him. He was declared dead soon after reaching a local hospital.
The medical examiner observed that Mr. Floyd had underlying heart conditions and addition of these, “potential intoxicants in his system” and being controlled by the officers “likely contributed to his death”.
All four police officers concerned in the crime have been fired from their jobs, and Chauvin, the main accused, has been charged with third-degree murder and second degree manslaughter.
Mr. Floyd’s family demanded for a more serious, first-degree murder charge along with the arrest of the three other officers involved. Hennepin County Prosecutor Mike Freeman said he “anticipates charges” for the other officers but would not disclose any other details regarding the same.
