Man dies of gunshot wounds as activists ‘block police’ from George Floyd memorial site

‘It was made clear law enforce were not welcomed to penetrate that zone, which is an atrocity, because his life was taken’

A mural to George Floyd near the site of his death in Minneapolis. (Associated Press)

The aunt of a man shot over the weekend at the Minneapolis intersection where police killed George Floyd accused activists of keeping officers from going all the way to the scene and retrieving her nephew’s body, potentially costing him his life.

“Police were not allowed to get into that area. He was carried outside the zone of George Floyd Square,” Kim Griffin told NewsNationNow.

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According to Minneapolis police, her nephew, Imez Wright, was shot and killed at the intersection over the weekend in a verbal disagreement.

“It was made clear law enforce were not welcomed to penetrate that zone, which is an atrocity, because his life was taken, and who nows whether or not he would’ve survived had things been different,” she added.

The Minneapolis Police Department did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent.

A police spokesperson, John Elder, told USA Today on Sunday that “officers were met with some interference at the scene” and that the victim was already on his way to a hospital when they arrived.

Ms Griffin, who says she supports police reform, shared her story with NewsNationNow’s Brian Entin on Tuesday.

As he was reporting a piece on George Floyd Square, a group of people threatened Mr Entin and told him to leave.

“They don’t allow anyone in, not even the police. It’s called an autonomous zone,” Mr Entin said in the video, which he shared on Twitter, standing in front of a metal barrier around the site.

Two figures approach from behind and tell him to go.

“You’re gunna be in a bad situation in a second because you've been called out for what you are and you need to get out of here,” one, a man, says.

Mr Entin did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent.

The intersection of 38th Street and Chicago, where officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Mr Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, has become a communal gathering place, protest site, and place of remembrance since Mr Floyd was killed there last May. It continues to be that way now, as state prosecutors try Mr Chauvin for murder not far away in downtown Minneapolis.

In February, the city announced it would resume full traffic and city services in the intersection and supply $10.5 million in community development funds, after activists closed it to traffic for months, demanding accountability.

“Injustice closed the square and only justice can reopen it,” Jeanelle Austin, who lives nearby and was one of the organisers at the intersection, told the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, criticising the decision for failing to meet activists’ demands around police reform and recalling various local officials.

Other residents have complained about how the intersection has turned into a protest zone, citing disturbances to the neighbourhood.

Jury selection in Mr Chauvin’s trial began this week, and he’s charged with murdering Mr Floyd. On Thursday, the county judge overseeing the case reinstated a third-degree murder charge, joining the second-degree murder and manslaughter charges Mr Chauvin faces.