There were Black Lives Matter protests and vigils last night for Kevin Peterson Jr, a 21-year-old Black man who was killed by police on Thursday.
Mourners gathered in Hazel Dell, about 12 miles (19km) north of Portland. Hundreds of people gathered for the vigil Friday evening, report the Associated Press, with some holding signs reading, “Honk for Black lives. White silence is violence” and “Scream his name”.
Mac Smiff, an organizer of Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, said he knows Peterson’s sister and spent more than five hours at the scene.
“There was a ton of grief, a ton of grief. He’s 21 and has a baby, an infant,” Smiff said. “They’re not sure what happened, why the encounter took place. Everyone was extremely disheveled and confused.”
Jake Thompson, a high school acquaintance of Peterson, said he took photos at the wedding of Peterson’s parents in Portland in 2018. On Friday, he posted a black-and-white photo of Peterson in a suit and bow tie. “I didn’t sleep much last night,” he said Friday.
Later, tensions flared between left- and right-wing protesters. Video recorded by journalists in a parking lot showed two groups of people shouting at each other. Some armed demonstrators gathered near a building which they told reporters they were protecting.
A group of hundreds of protesters later marched through downtown Vancouver, Washington. Federal agents dressed in riot gear surrounded a building warning people that trespassing on federal property would result in arrest. Authorities declared an unlawful assembly and ordered protesters to disperse.
In a statement, Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins said a joint city-county narcotics taskforce was conducting an investigation just before 6pm Thursday and chased a man into the parking lot of a bank, where he fired a gun at them. A firearm was recovered at the scene, Atkins said.
“I can say that our agency is grieving as is the Peterson family and the community,” Atkins said. “As the community grieves, I call for there to be a respectful and dignified observance of the loss of life in this matter. There is always the potential for misinformation, doubt and confusion – and there may be those who wish to sow seeds of doubt.”
The Oregonian reported that Peterson was on the phone with his partner, Olivia Selto, at the time he was shot. Selto said Peterson was running during the phone call and then she heard multiple gunshots before the line went silent. She said she didn’t know the circumstances that led to the fatal encounter.
