Minneapolis police investigate ‘homicide’ amid reports of ‘looter shot dead by pawn shop owner’

A suspected looter has reportedly been shot and killed in Minneapolis after a protest over police brutality escalated into a full-blown riot, with a law enforcement spokesman confirming one homicide amid the unrest.

Though few details have yet emerged about the murder – the first casualty linked to the riots – a number of unconfirmed reports, including from bystanders on the scene, suggest the man was shot while attempting to loot a pawn shop in the city on Wednesday night.

A video clip surfaced on social media purporting to show the man as emergency response workers attempted to revive him.

Police spokesperson John Elder said the reports that the victim was a looter are “one of the theories we are looking into,” and that the investigation is still in its earliest stage. 

Riots and looting broke out in Minneapolis on Wednesday after demonstrations were sparked by the death of a local black man, George Floyd, in a suspected case of police brutality. Floyd, who was unarmed, died when a police officer pinned him to the ground and put him in a chokehold.

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