As the dust settled on yet another night of terrifying madness and mayhem across our nation, a row has broken out about what led to a protester being shot dead.
What is not in dispute is that on Saturday night in Austin, Texas, a man taking part in a protest against police brutality was shot dead.
Police said that the man, later identified as Garrett Foster, was carrying a weapon when he approached a vehicle. The person in the vehicle then shot the man. The shooting happened about 9:50 pm at Fourth Street and Congress Avenue, EMS officials said.
The confrontation took place after the car appeared to try to drive through a crowd of protesters. Several protesters — including Foster, who was holding a rifle — approached the car, witnesses said, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Foster had his rifle pointed at the ground, according to fellow protester Michael Capochiano and other witnesses. The driver pointed his gun outside the window, fired several shots, then sped away, Capochiano said. Foster “dropped to the ground when he got shot,” Capochiano said.
However, ABC reported that Garrett’s mother, Sheila Foster, has a different account of what happened.
She told Good Morning America that her son he had attended many peaceful protests with his fiancee Whitney Mitchell, a quadruple amputee. She said her son was pushing Mitchell’s wheelchair moments before the shooting.
“And this gentleman got out of his car and started firing shots, and my son was shot three times,” she said.
Police said they detained the person who fired the fatal shots and said he is cooperating with officers.