Vigil held for US black man gunned down by police

Over 100 persons on Thursday held a vigil for Alton Sterling, 37, the African-American man who was killed in Tuesday's shooting by two white police officers in Louisiana's Baton Rouge city.

The participants, including Sterling's family members, politicians and religious leaders, urged those who gathered for the vigil to stay peaceful even as their words spoke of the hurt, anger and frustration following newsbreaks with updates on the killing of Sterling, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sterling was selling compact discs outside a food store when he was gunned down following an altercation with two police officers on Tuesday, local media reported.

Two videos showing the shooting that killed Sterling had fuelled protests.

One of the videos released on Wednesday showed two police officers were struggling with Sterling just before he was fatally shot.

The video showed Sterling's left arm was moving slightly as an officer pulled the weapon from his right pocket. Sterling could be seen struggling as officers held him down.

Footage confirmed some of the claims made by the food store owner, who told local media that Sterling was shot several times.

--IANS

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