Protests continued in Baton Rouge last night over the police killing of 37-year-old Alton Sterling. WWNO’s Ryan Kailath was there.
A crowd of hundreds grew to over a thousand as afternoon turned into night. In the evening, local leaders held a vigil for Sterling in the parking lot of the Triple S convenience store where he was killed. State Representative C. Denise Marcelle urged the crowd to avoid violence.
“Some people said we couldn’t come out here without burning up our own buildings. Without flipping over cars. But this is not Ferguson, this is Baton Rouge, Louisiana!”
Around 10 p.m. a second line came winding through the crowd. A man calling himself Snoop said he’d never seen one in Baton Rouge.
Connie McGee is from New Orleans, but has been in Baton Rouge since Katrina. She was thrilled to have a taste of home. She said she was happy to see so many black people gathered, with no violence.
Further protests are planned today, and a possible boycott of area businesses tomorrow.
