Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Crowd Protesting Antonio Martin's Death Shut Down Missouri Highway
Activists shutdown highway in Berkeley, Missouri protesting the
police shooting death of 18-year-old Antonio Martin.
Berkeley Police Say Teen Pulled Gun Before Officer Killed Him

NIGHTLY NEWS

A small group of protesters twice shut down a highway near Berkeley, Missouri, a day after an 18-year-old was fatally shot by police after authorities said he pointed a 9mm handgun at the officer.

The group of about 70 people brought traffic on I-170 southbound to a halt after protesters entered it at about 7:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET). The group later exited the highway. There was no reports of arrests. Protesters then reentered the highway in the northbound lanes about an hour later, NBC station KSDK reported.

The highway shut downs occurred after demonstrators gathered at the Berkeley gas station where Antonio Martin was fatally shot by a police officer late Tuesday. Officials said Martin was shot after he pointed a gun at the officer, and police said they recovered a 9mm handgun at the scene.

"This was not the same as Ferguson," Mayor Theodore Hoskins said, referring to the controversial police killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown, which touched off weeks of sometimes violent protests in that town, as well as demonstrations across the nation. St. Louis County police Wednesday released more surveillance video taken before Martin was shot, and say the videos show Martin pointing a handgun at the officer, whose identity has not been released.

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