Protest flares after police kill black man in Charlotte

Protestors blocked a busy highway and clashed with police for a second day in Charlotte, North Carolina, after officers shot and killed a 43-year-old black man in a residential parking lot on Tuesday.

The fatal shooting came amid an intense national debate over the use of deadly force by police, particularly against African-Americans in recent months.

Protestors blocked Interstate 85, where they stole boxes from trucks and started fires before police used flash grenades in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

On Tuesday night, hundreds of people gathered at the apartment complex where Keith Lamont Scott was shot. Family members said Scott was waiting for his son to be dropped off from school.

Angry residents threw rocks and water bottles at police as they weilded large sticks and blocked traffic. Twelve police were injured.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg's police said they were searching for an outstanding warrant when they saw Scott get out of his vehicle with a fire-arm. He was shot because he "posed an imminent deadly threat to the officers."

Both the protestors and Scott's family said he was not armed. Shakeala Baker, who lives in a neighboring apartment complex, said she had seen Scott many times in the parking lot, waiting for his child.

"This is just sad. I get tired of seeing another black person shot every time I turn on the television," she said.

"But (police are) scared for their own lives. So if they're scared for their lives, how are they going to protect us?"