Clinton, Trump weigh-in on fatal Charlotte shooting
CHARLOTTE (WTVD) -- Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took to social media Wednesday to comment on Tuesday's fatal officer-involved shooting in Charlotte.
RELATED: Police: Man killed in Charlotte shooting was armed
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said during a news conference that officers were searching for a suspect Tuesday when they saw 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott exit a vehicle with a handgun. Officers told Scott, who was not the suspect they were looking for, to drop the gun. He got out of the vehicle a second time still carrying it, the chief said, and he was shot because he posed a threat.
"Keith Lamont Scott. Terence Crutcher. Too many others. This has got to end. -H," Clinton tweeted Wednesday.
Clinton referenced Terence Crutcher in her tweet, a 40-year-old unarmed black man who was fatally shot by a white police officer after his SUV stalled on the road last week.
RELATED: Clinton calls Tulsa police shooting 'horrible'
Trump also tweeted his reaction to the Charlotte shooting, saying in part that the situations in both Tulsa and Charlotte are "tragic."
"Hopefully the violence & unrest in Charlotte will come to an immediate end. To those injured, get well soon. We need unity & leadership," Trump tweeted Wednesday
Following the shooting, protesters in Charlotte clashed with police in riot gear Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning. At least 16 officers were injured, including one who was hit in the face with a rock.
Scott's family dispelled officer's account of the shooting; they claim that he was unarmed when he was shot by Officer Brentley Vinson, and instead was holding a book.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Chief Kerr Putney told reporters at a Wednesday morning news conference that a handgun was found at the scene, but no book.
Putney said officers gave Scott multiple warnings to put down a handgun before fatally shooting him.
Read more about the shooting here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
