Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Thousands gathered in freezing downtown Minneapolis Saturday to protest against the killing of Amir Locke, the 22-year-old Black man shot by police earlier this week.
Locke's death exacerbated existing wounds in the city, where George Floyd was murdered by a police officer less than two years ago.
"I don't know what today will bring," one protestor, Jeanelle Austin, told the New York Times during a demonstration that remained peaceful. "But we need something different. We can't keep continuing with more of the same. We're dying."
Protestors called on Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Interim Chief Amelia Huffman to resign, according to reports from WCCO Minnesota. They also called on city leadership to immediately fire and prosecute Minneapolis Police Officer Mark Hanneman, who fatally shot Locke during an early morning SWAT raid on an apartment complex while carrying out a no-knock search warrant.
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Locke was not named on the warrant, nor was he a resident of the apartment. He was sleeping on the couch when police arrived.
A graphic body camera video released by the MPD Thursday shows police quietly unlocking the door of the apartment. They enter and yell "Police! Search warrant!" One officer kicked the back of the couch where Locke was under a blanket, which jostled Locke and revealed a gun.
Police shot at least three times in response. Locke died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner.