Peaceful protests turned violent over the weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. The demonstrations began after an environmental activist was shot by police. Here’s what we know so far … #news
Producer: Antoniette Meyer
Senior Producer: Amy Daire
Producer: Antoniette Meyer
Senior Producer: Amy Daire
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NewsTranscript
00:00Peaceful protests turned violent in Atlanta, Georgia over the weekend.
00:03This comes after an activist was killed in an alleged gun battle with police while protesting
00:07a proposed police training facility. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said,
00:11It was peaceful, but there were some individuals within that crowd that meant violence.
00:16Most of them traveled into our city to wreak havoc.
00:19A total of six people have been arrested and, according to police, only one of them was from
00:23Georgia. The initial protests were a stand against a proposed 85-acre police training compound.
00:28Activists moved into the area of the forest where the facility is set to go up,
00:31in an effort to stop construction. The protests amped up, however,
00:35after 26-year-old activist Manuel Estevan Paez Turan was killed as authorities cleared people
00:40from the site on January 18. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation,
00:44someone in a tent fired a gun at the troopers after they gave verbal commands asking the
00:48person inside to exit. Officers returned fire, killing the person inside.
00:52The victim's mother and activists with Defend the Atlanta Forest have challenged this story.