These are some of the most powerful, painful responses to Philando Castile's shooting

By Nidhi Prakash  |  July 7, 2016 | 2:57pm
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Last night, a police officer shot and killed 32-year-old Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. His girlfriend, who was in the car with him along with her four-year-old daughter, live streamed the harrowing aftermath of the shooting to Facebook, in which an officer can be seen standing outside the car with Castile’s blood-soaked body still in the driver’s seat.

Castile’s death comes just one day after another viral video of a black man being killed by police. In that video, Alton Sterling is seen restrained on the ground before being shot by Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police officers. Mourning and anger over Castile’s death, and the deaths of the 122 other black men and women shot by police this year alone, is spreading on social media.

Early this morning, protestors gathered outside Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton’s residence chanting, “No justice, no peace” and “Wake up!”:

There was an outpouring of grief from many who saw the video Castile’s girlfriend—Diamond “Lavish” Reynolds—posted, in which her four-year-old daughter can be heard trying to comfort her mother from the back seat of the car:

https://twitter.com/PhattieBey/status/750917337193275392

Some people summed up the hypocrisy of what’s expected from black people in their interactions with police while others expressed a sense of futility:

Warning: the footage in this video is graphic

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHj_hvfBt4F/?tagged=philandocastile

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHj_f_pBnYl/?tagged=philandocastile

One Minnesota local said that as a white man, he’s had to reach for his wallet during a traffic stop many times—with vastly different results:

Others responded to another hashtag, #WaitForTheFacts, which has emerged in the aftermath of police shootings with people either defending police or placing blame with victims:

Philando Castro is the 123rd black person to be killed by police in America this year, according to the Washington Post. The St. Anthony Police Department released a statement confirming the incident early this morning. Interim police chief Jon Mangseth told reporters the officer involved has been placed on standard leave and that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will investigate, local station KSTP reported.

 
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