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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in Charlotte tried to quell public anger Wednesday after a police officer shot a black man, but a dusk prayer vigil turned into a march that ended with a protester critically wounded by gunfire and the governor declared a state of emergency in the city.

The man was not shot by police who had massed in riot gear to keep the marchers outside an upscale downtown hotel, Charlotte officials announced on Twitter. City officials originally announced the man was dead but later reversed that statement and said he was on life support.

The second night of violent protests added Charlotte to the list of U.S. cities that have erupted in violence over the death of a black man at the hands of police.

With officials refusing to release any video of the Tuesday shooting of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott, anger built as two starkly different versions emerged: Police say Scott disregarded repeated demands to drop his gun, while neighborhood residents say he was holding a book, not a weapon, as he waited for his son to get off the school bus.

 

Authorities tried to quell public anger and correct what they characterized as false information Wednesday as Charlotte dealt with a second night of violent protests, adding itself to the list of U.S. cities that have erupted in violence over the death of a black man at the hands of police.

Protesters demonstrate in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. Authorities used tear gas to disperse protesters in an overnight demonstration that broke out Tuesday after Keith Lamont Scott was fatally shot by an officer at an apartment complex. (Jeff Siner/The Charlotte Observer via AP)

 

With officials refusing to release any video of the Tuesday shooting of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott, anger built as two starkly different versions emerged: Police say Scott disregarded repeated demands to drop his gun, while neighborhood residents say he was holding a book, not a weapon, as he waited for his son to get off the school bus.

 

The killing inflamed racial tensions in a city that seemed to have steered clear of the troubles that engulfed other places.

Destructive protests Tuesday continued into Wednesday night when a group of protesters split from a peaceful prayer vigil and marched through downtown Charlotte. Police kept their distance for about an hour, but officers in riot gear moved in as the marchers approached an upscale hotel.

Six officers suffered minor injuries, paramedics said.

Police in riot gear then began marching arm in arm through downtown Charlotte intersections, shooting tear gas at people who charged them. At least one protester knocked down a reporter during a live shot.

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Associated Press writers Tom Foreman Jr., Jonathan Drew, Martha Waggoner and Steve Reed contributed to this report.

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