WARNING: This video contains graphic material and may not be suitable for all viewers
A video has surfaced that appears to show the deadly police shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday morning, leading to protests across the city.
The roughly 45-second video shows two Baton Rouge police officers attempting to arrest a man identified as Alton Sterling who was selling CDs outside a convenience store.
The Baton Rouge Police Department said in a statement posted to Facebook that officers responded to a call around 12:35 a.m. “from a complainant who stated that a black male who was selling music cd’s and wearing a red shirt threatened him with a gun” outside the convenience store Triple S Food Mart.
READ MORE: Alton Sterling shooting by Baton Rouge police sparks outrage, U.S. Justice Dept. investigation
“An altercation between Sterling and the officers ensued. Sterling was shot during the altercation and died at the scene,” Baton Rouge police said.
Police did not say whether Sterling was armed when he was killed.
Convenience store owner, Abdullah Muflahi, told the Advocate Sterling was armed, but was not holding his gun or touching his pockets during the incident. A gun was later found in his pocket, Muflahi told the newspaper.
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Protest erupts in Baton Rouge after police officer fatally shoots Alton Sterling -
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Baton Rouge cops involved in Alton Sterling shooting identified
The death of Sterling is the latest in a series of police-involved shootings across the United States that have been captured on video and raised questions about police tactics.
The video — taken on a cellphone from inside a nearby vehicle — shows two officers tackling a man in a red shirt against a silver car and pulling him to the ground on his back.
“Get on the ground!” one officer is heard yelling at the start of the video.
Police are seen wrestling with the man on the ground pulling his left arm down while one officer is on top of the man’s chest.
“He’s got a gun! Gun,” an officer yells as both officers appear to draw their guns from their holsters.
“You f***ing move, I swear to God,” an officer yells, with one officer pointing his weapon at the man.
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An officer is heard shouting “he’s going for the gun” before the sound of several shots ring out and the person filming turns the cellphone away from the window.
“Oh, s**t,” someone says as more shots are heard.
“They shot him?” a man’s panicked voice is heard on video.
“Yes,” a woman replies.
WATCH: Protest erupts in Baton Rouge after police officer fatally shoots Alton Sterling
A man claiming to have shot the video says he distributed the footage on social media as a service to the community.
Arthur Reed told the Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that he and a team from his company, Stop the Killing Inc., made the video early Tuesday morning. Reed says his company shoots documentary-style videos about killings in Baton Rouge.
Reed says that on the day of Sterling’s death, two teams of people drove to the scene, outside of the convenience store, after hearing about the incident on a police scanner.
“They were already messing with him, and it escalated. After the shots, we left,” Reed told the AP.
The Advocate reported that East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner William “Beau” Clark said the initial autopsy results show Sterling suffered more than two gunshot wounds to his chest and back and that he died as a result of a homicide.
Baton Rouge Police said in a statement the two officers “have been placed on administrative leave per standard procedure.”
Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said Wednesday that the officers involved in the shooting are Blane Salamoni, a four-year member of the department and Howie Lake II, who has been on the force for three years.
*With files from the Associated Press
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