Philando Castile. (Courtesy of Allysza Castile)--Philando Castile, right. (Courtesy of Allysza Castile)
Philando Castile, 32, was fatally shot by a police officer at a traffic stop outside St. Paul. His girlfriend, Diamond “Lavish” Reynolds, and her 4-year-old daughter were in the car with him. Reynolds live streamed the aftermath on Facebook. Here's what you need to know. (Monica Akhtar, Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)
A Minnesota traffic stop turned deadly Wednesday evening when a police officer opened fire on a black driver and killed him — less than 48 hours after another fatal police shooting in Louisiana.
As outrage mounted Thursday over the shooting in a quiet St. Paul suburb, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) suggested that race played a role in the death of Philando Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria manager.
The Facebook live video of the aftermath of the police shooting of Philando Castile went down for a few hours shortly after it reached more than 1 million viewers. Facebook blames a technical glitch. (Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post)
The Facebook live video of the aftermath of the police shooting of Philando Castile went down for a few hours shortly after it reached more than 1 million viewers. Facebook blames a technical glitch. (Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post)
The fatal encounter in Falcon Heights, Dayton said, probably would have ended differently had Castile been white.
“Nobody should be shot and killed in Minnesota … for a taillight being out of function,” the governor said.
“Nobody should be shot and killed while seated still in their car. I’m heartbroken.”
“Nobody should be shot and killed while seated still in their car. I’m heartbroken.”
He added: “All of us in Minnesota are forced to confront that this kind of racism exists.”
