While there was a substantial police presence monitoring protesters, there had been no arrests as of early Wednesday evening.
— blackbubbles (@itstifftiara) September 28, 2016
— Everette Taylor (@Everette) September 28, 2016
The shooting occurred at a shopping center in the suburb of El Cajon when Olango’s sister called the authorities asking for help with brother’s mental health issues. Police say that when they arrived on the scene, Olango was walking through traffic and “concealed his hand in his pants pocket.”
"[Olango] rapidly drew an object from his front pants pockets, placed both hands together on it and extended it rapidly toward [one] officer, taking what appeared to be a shooting stance," Police Chief Jeff Davis told the Los Angeles Times.
— Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) September 28, 2016
While authorities say Olango ignored multiple instructions from officers, witnesses contradict these claims.
"I didn’t hear any command 'Halt,' 'Stop' or 'I’ll shoot,'" one witness told NBC. "I didn’t hear any command or yelling. I didn’t hear the man say anything. Next think I see 'Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow' — five shots."
— David Hernandez (@D4VIDHernandez) September 28, 2016
Other witnesses indicated that the victim may have suffered a seizure when he was shot.
Tuesday’s shooting comes in the wake of similar incidents in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Charlotte, North Carolina. The latter led to riots in the downtown area and the state’s national guard being called in.
