US city tense as cops shoot man

Protesters in a poor, predominantly black neighborhood of the U.S. midwestern city of Milwaukee fired gunshots, hurled bricks and set a gas station on fire late on Saturday night after a patrol officer shot dead an armed suspect there, authorities said.

Police did not disclose the race of the suspect or the officer involved in the shooting, which occurred on Saturday afternoon local time in Sherman Park. The violence comes as anger over police killings of black men and women in the United States remains unabated. A statement from the Milwaukee Police Department did not name the suspect but said he was 23, had a lengthy arrest record and was carrying a stolen handgun loaded with 23 rounds of ammunition when police pulled over the vehicle for unspecified “suspicious activity”.

The statement did not say whether he fired any shots or pointed the weapon at officers. A second suspect who fled from the vehicle was taken into custody. The officer who shot the suspect has been placed on administrative duty pending a judicial investigation

Police in the area said that after the shooting, residents of Sherman Park came out onto the streets and that by evening, peaceful gatherings had turned violent.