CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One person was shot and hospitalized with life-threatening injuries during protests in uptown Charlotte Wednesday night, Medic, or the Mecklenburg EMS Agency, confirmed.
Medic said on Twitter that it was treating the patient for a gunshot wound en route to Carolinas Medical Center at about 8:45 p.m.
The person was shot in the area of North College and East Trade streets, according to Medic.
Medic said it was responding to “multiple incidents uptown related to the situation in the College Street area” but was no more specific.
Moments earlier, police fired tear gas at protesters at the entrance to the Omni Hotel in uptown Charlotte. Loud booms sounded, and police said explosives had been used.
“Your life is in danger, you need to move!” police in riot gear yelled.
Protests had remained peaceful in uptown on Wednesday, after the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. But the scene turned chaotic after 8:30 p.m., when protesters went from Marshall Park to the Epicentre dining and entertainment complex and the Omni on Trade Street.
Businesses in the Epicentre closed hours earlier in anticipation of the protests. Police also blocked off streets as the situation deteriorated outside the Omni.
Several hundred protesters had gathered at the Omni before tear gas began scattering the crowd.
Protesters blocked Trade and Tryon streets at about 8 p.m. and then moved to the Epicentre.
Hours earlier, a group of two dozen protesters stood silently in front of the Bank of America Tower at the same intersection. They held signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “Stop Killing Us.”
Protesters then gathered outside Charlotte-Mecklenburg police headquarters before gathering at Marshall Park for a 7 p.m. rally.
Scott’s wife, meanwhile, issued a statement calling for protests to remain peaceful. Do not damage property, she urged.
Speakers using a bullhorn questioned why police shot Scott. Even if Scott had a gun as Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said, protesters said North Carolina is an open carry state where it is legal to have a firearm.
The protesters also criticized police for their response Tuesday night when officers used tear gas and batons to disburse crowds on Old Concord Road near where Scott was fatally shot.
“You were unprepared,” one protester yelled, addressing police. “You escalated it … You came to us with billy clubs.”
Alex Gray of Charlotte said he was “not really big on chanting. But just to be here to support … I mean, there are a lot of people who have lost their lives for this reason or that reason. It’s just disheartening.” It would be nice to see some change, obviously it’s not going to be anything that happens overnight, but if it has to start somewhere … If you’re not an actor, you’re a factor, so I’d rather be part of the movement than not.”
Master Allah of Charlotte said, “if you read (my sign), it says if we were really free, we wouldn’t be dealing with this. What it means is, in the history of America, we have never been seen as free. We wasn’t brought to this country to be equal, and now we’re at a point to where were being destroyed.
“I think with the power of media — Facebook, Twitter, all the social media — now it’s something that’s being seen on the daily. It can’t be denied. We gotta talk about it because we’ve got a real problem.”
Earlier Wednesday afternoon, pockets of the city were on edge, with some uptown businesses apparently sending workers home early over uncertainty about further protests. The Charlotte Chamber also urged businesses in uptown and University City to “remove or chain down all tables, chairs, signs or planters.”
