In a tragic turn of events, a young Bangladeshi-American student was shot to death by police at the city of Cambridge in Massachusetts on Wednesday. This has stirred protests and angered the Bangladeshi community living in the US state.
The victim is 20-year-old Arif Sayed Faisal, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Even though he was born in the US, his parents hail from Chittagong's Fatikchhari upazila, said his uncle Selim Jahangir.
Citing police, CBS News reported that Faisal was carrying a large knife – an allegation boldly denied by Jahangir, who is a Massachusetts resident.
Selim told a Bangla daily on Thursday that they were given no videos showing Faisal carrying a sharp weapon.
Jahangir claimed that Faisal was calm in nature. “We don't understand why police shot at him?” he questioned.
He also demanded fair probe of the incident and punishment of the police officer who opened fire.
Police killings of unarmed people have drawn significant attention in recent years and spurred mass protests.
Fatal police shootings remain a persistent and contentious issue in the US, prompting protests and ongoing calls for serious reforms to policing.
The Bangladesh Association of New England organized protests outside Cambridge City Hall on Thursday, condemning the “brutal killing” of 20-year-old Sayed Faisal.
They described the death of Faisal as a “racist incident by white police officers”.
“This is not acceptable in any meaning,” the association said in a Facebook post.
It said that members of the association would meet with Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqi to look for an explanation.
“We need to bring justice for this young brother. Police brutality needs to stop,” the post added.
Meanwhile, referring to the killing, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Friday said Bangladesh does not want any hate crime anywhere in the world..
How it unfolded
A Cambridgeport resident called 911 at about 1:15pm on Wednesday to report a man jumped out of an apartment window with what appeared to be a machete, according to CBS News.
The man was then seen cutting himself with the weapon and broken glass from the window he jumped out of, it added.
Officers attempted to verbally engage with the bleeding man after a foot chase from an alley behind a Sidney Street building to Chestnut Street around 1:15pm, requesting that he put the knife down.
The man reportedly moved towards the officers while still in possession of the weapon.
An officer discharged a less-than-lethal sponge round in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.
“That round was unsuccessful in stopping Faisal. He continued to advance towards officers in possession of the weapon. One officer discharged a department-issued firearm and struck Faisal. He was immediately rendered medical aid on the scene by officers until EMS arrived. Faisal was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital where he later died,” police said.
"Our officers tried several times to engage the individual verbally unsuccessfully. This lasted over five blocks from where we first encountered them," Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow told CBS. "We tried several times to deescalate the situation."
The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on leave. The shooting is under investigation by the Middlesex District Attorney's office.