Seattle protests: One person killed after car strikes protesters
- Published
A person has died after a car sped into a group of protesters in Seattle.
Summer Taylor, 24, who was non-binary, died hours later. A woman was also seriously hurt and a suspect has been arrested.
The car "drove through the closure and struck multiple pedestrians", a Washington State Patrol tweet said.
There has been prolonged unrest in Seattle since African-American George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis in May.
Protests have been widespread across the US under the Black Lives Matter movement.
The incident with the vehicle occurred on Saturday morning at a southbound section of Interstate-5 that had been shut ahead of a women's march.
Part of the protest had been live-streamed on social media under the headline "Black Femme March takes I-5".
Here are two pictures of the suspect vehicle that struck two protesters on I-5 this morning. Investigation into motive and point of entry in to I-5 are still under investigation. pic.twitter.com/gU1QH6TFTu
— Trooper Rick Johnson (@wspd2pio) July 4, 2020
Footage posted on Twitter showed a white car speeding along the highway at about 01:40 (08:40 GMT), before swerving to avoid two stationary vehicles positioned as a roadblock, then hitting the two people.
The suspect - 27-year-old Dawit Kelete of Seattle - has been charged with two counts of vehicular assault. Police have not said whether it was a targeted attack.
More on the US protests
'I'm tired of being afraid': Why Americans are protesting
- 8 June 2020
- 30 June 2020
