A BLM protest march in Aurora, Colorado ended up on the freeway Saturday. There was some screaming and a Jeep drove down the freeway as people scattered out of the way. Several shots were fired and two protesters were hit. Some people initially claimed that someone inside the Jeep had fired at the protesters:

https://twitter.com/Joshuajered/status/1287237898224513024

In fact, it was one of the protesters who had attempted to fire on the Jeep who shot two people in the crowd:

As it passed, a protester pulled a gun and started shooting at the vehicle, witnesses said. Six shots rang out, causing panic.

Two protesters were shot or grazed, and another fell or jumped from the highway, breaking her leg.

“I just heard people screaming ‘Medic!’ from everywhere,” said protester Heather Benton, an Emergency Medical Technician. “I didn’t realize I’d entered a war zone.”

Yesterday police released two images of a person of interest in the case:

UPDATE: DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS MALE?

This male is a person of interest that shot 2 people yesterday on I-225.

Please reach out to @CrimeStoppersCO with tips. You can remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000. https://t.co/hSD2ac6gCp pic.twitter.com/iviXgdfCR9

— Aurora Police Dept 🇺🇸 (@AuroraPD) July 27, 2020

This is not the first time a protester has shot at a vehicle driving through traffic. Last month a driver in a pickup tried to flee a group of protesters in Provo, Utah. A protester fired two shots, one of which hit the driver. He drove himself to a nearby hospital. No protesters were injured in that incident.

Also this weekend, a driver moving toward a crowd of protesters in Austin was surrounded. When one man with a rifle approached his car, he fired at him several times killing the man.

Austin’s police chief, Brian Manley, told reporters on Sunday that as the motorist turned, a crowd of protesters surrounded the vehicle, and some struck the car. The driver, whose name has not been released, then opened fire from inside the car as Mr. Foster approached. Another person in the crowd pulled out a handgun and shot at the vehicle as it sped away.

Minutes after the shooting, the driver called 911 and said he had been involved in a shooting and had driven away from the scene, Chief Manley said. The caller told dispatchers he had shot someone who had approached the driver’s window and pointed a rifle at him.

“His account is that Mr. Foster pointed the weapon directly at him and he fired his handgun at Mr. Foster,” the chief said of the driver.

There is a debate taking place online about whether over whether the shooting victim, Garrett Foster, actually raised his weapon toward the driver or merely had it slung in front of him. The shooting and the aftermath were caught on video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6ll7WHh2VA

Update: There was another incident this weekend where protesters tried to stop a car in Georgetown in Washington, DC. Anti-police protesters were outraged that the woman who’d moved her car a few feet with protesters riding on her hood wasn’t arrested by the police.

Tonight @concernedofdc led a siren/noise pollution protest where we blocked off streets in Georgetown. The police presence was heavy. As we blocked off streets we demanded that people turn around. This was a minor inconvenience for this affluent white neighborhood.

— Julia Clark🇧🇷 (@jc_1303) July 26, 2020

In the video above, she had already attempted to run us over multiple times and I had moved from the front of the car to the side and was banging on her window screaming at her to stop. Throughout this whole thing, the cops are doing nothing.

— Julia Clark🇧🇷 (@jc_1303) July 26, 2020

Police continue to REFUSE to arrest this white woman, citing that since she stayed on the scene (only because we blocked her from leaving) she did not have “intent” and could not be charged nor arrested. pic.twitter.com/hH0Lqc33Xp

— Julia Clark🇧🇷 (@jc_1303) July 26, 2020

After all this time of pushing protestors and protecting this violent white woman, the MPD LET HER DRIVE HOME. Shoving and grabbing protestors who tried to stop her. Police treated us like threats, when she was clearly dangerous.

— Julia Clark🇧🇷 (@jc_1303) July 26, 2020

Police didn’t do shit. They have never done shit. Will never do shit. And will never BE shit. Fuck the police. This is a hate crime. Find this woman.

— Julia Clark🇧🇷 (@jc_1303) July 26, 2020

This is exactly why we need to defund MPD. MPD does not protect citizens utilizing their right to protest, they protect a woman who tried to run over protestors. Police DON’T keep us safe. The only thing police are good at is brutalizing Black people. DEFUND MPD.

— Julia Clark🇧🇷 (@jc_1303) July 26, 2020

Surrounding drivers and then expecting them to react calmly while people pound on their cars from all sides does not seem like a smart game to be playing in the streets of our cities.