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Protests erupted outside of the Olympia, Washington City Hall Thursday, after a White officer shot two unarmed Black male skateboarders accused of trying to steal beer from a local grocery store, according to NBC News.

The men, Andre Thompson, 24, and Bryson Chaplin, 21, who are stepbrothers, reportedly survived the shooting and were rushed to a local hospital, the report says. NBC says Thompson was listed in serious critical condition Thursday night, while Chaplin was described as critical.

The case was immediately turned over to outside investigators. The incident began when Olympia officer Ryan Donald, 35, responded to a shoplifting call around 1:15 a.m. (4:15 a.m. ET) about two men fleeing after allegedly trying to steal beer, the report says. Donald wasn’t injured.

Via NBC News.

In audio of Donald’s communications with a dispatcher during the incident, he is asked whether the men are armed. He replies: “No. He just assaulted me with a skateboard. I tried to, uh, grab his friend. They’re very aggressive, just so you know.”…

Donald shot the man, who fled into the woods with his stepbrother, [Olympia Police Chief Ronnie] Roberts said. They then came back out of the woods, and “the officer felt threatened and discharged his firearm” again, hitting the other man multiple times in the torso, he said.

Donald was put on administrative leave pending an internal investigation and a separate probe by the Critical Incident Team, a cooperative of investigators from five local law enforcement agencies under supervision of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

NBC says Donald was put on administrative leave pending an internal investigation and a separate probe by the Critical Incident Team, a cooperative of investigators from five local law enforcement agencies under supervision of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

The shooting comes on the heels of the indictment Thursday of six Baltimore officers in the death of Freddie Gray, 25, who died of a spinal injury received in police custody last month, igniting protests in the city and across the nation.

The Baltimore indictments and shootings in Olympia follows a string of high-profile deaths of unarmed Black men at the hands of police, including Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina, Eric Garner in New York City, and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, which touched off ongoing protests and catapulted the national “Black Lives Matter” movement.

SOURCE: NBC News | PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter | VIDEO CREDIT: NDN

SEE ALSO:

Baltimore Grand Jury Indicts Police Officers Involved In Freddie Gray’s Death

2 Unarmed Black Male Skateboarders Shot By Washington State Police  was originally published on newsone.com