A driver in Austin, Texas, who called police after shooting a Black Lives Matter protester who approached his vehicle with an AK-47 allegedly pointed at him has been released by authorities after being taken into custody for about a day. The shooting, which happened over the weekend during one of many protests and riots happening across the country, left Garrett Foster dead.
According to The Gateway Pundit, police do not believe Foster discharged his weapon. The driver shot at him five times based on audio from multiple videos reviewed, then a different firearm was discharged three times. Police believe the other firearm was from another armed protester shooting at the vehicle as it drove off.
Police have released the driver who allegedly killed an armed protester Saturday night in downtown Austin, while they investigate what led to the fatal shooting.
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley identified the man who was shot as Garrett Foster.
Foster was attending the protest against police violence and had been pushing the wheelchair of his fiancée, Whitney Mitchell, 28, who is a quadruple amputee. The couple, who met in North Texas as teenagers, moved to Austin a couple of years ago and had attended protests in recent weeks, their mothers told The Dallas Morning News.
Austin police are investigating what occurred between Foster, who they said was carrying an AK-47-style rifle during the protest, and the driver, who called police to report that he’d shot someone…
… Witnesses reported that just before 10 p.m. Saturday, a car turned down the street toward the protesters and the driver started honking its horn. The vehicle stopped in the roadway, police said, and Foster approached the driver’s side window as others began striking the car. The driver then opened fire, striking Foster.
Manley said at a news conference Sunday that the driver reported Foster pointed his weapon at them before the shooting. KVUE-TV reported that police have said Foster did not discharge his weapon, but the chief did say someone else in the crowd did return fire as the car left the scene.
If Garrett Foster aimed his firearm at the driver who shot him, and at least one image is circulating around social media supporting this premise, then the driver should be considered as having acted in self-defense.
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