BATON ROUGE—A senior source in law enforcement reportedly says the 911 call that led to the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling early Tuesday morning came from a homeless man, who said that Sterling brandished a gun after repeatedly asking for money.
The CNN report seems to fly in the face of the repeated narrative from Black Lives Matter activists that Sterling was “killed for selling CDs” and may offer some insight into the altercation with Baton Rouge police that led to Sterling’s death.
Realize that #EricGarner & #AltonSterling were brutally killed for being black while selling (cigarettes & CDs) cheap consumer products.
— Anil Dash (@anildash) July 6, 2016
All Day: You can add “selling CDs” to the list of things that might get you killed by the police. #AltonSterling https://t.co/eImQZwTDN4
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) July 6, 2016
As Breitbart News has reported, the Sterling case was immediately used by the left and Black Lives Matter to promote their narrative that the United States is a hopefully racist oppressor state where black people are executed constantly.
A number of people confirm to Breitbart News that Alton Sterling was frequently seen in front of the Triple S convenience store in North Baton Rouge, where he sold CDs. But the latest information about the 911 call may help explain why police may have believed that Sterling was a threat.
At protests Wednesday night for #AltonSterling at the scene of his shooting. #Baton Rouge. pic.twitter.com/qS5xMn4S2a
— ⏳ (@stranahan) July 7, 2016
A video taken by the store owner and released yesterday shows police removing what appears to be a gun from Sterling’s pocket immediately after the shooting. The store owner had also said in previously published media reports that he saw police remove the gun from his pocket.
About 800 people turned out to protest in Baton Rouge on Tuesday night, then an estimated crowd of 500 was back out in front of the Triple S convenience store on Wednesday. The protests were peaceful and are expected to continue, especially in the wake of another police involved shooting in Minnesota last night. It also gained national attention after a dramatic video of the shootings aftermath was live streamed on Facebook. An organized protesters plan for Sunday.
The federal Department of Justice will investigate the Alton Sterling shooting.
Follow Breitbart News investigative reporter and Citizen Journalism School founder Lee Stranahan on Twitter at @Stranahan.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.