Donald Trump has put the Army on notice to be deployed to US streets for the first time since the 1992 LA riots as Minneapolis erupted for the fourth night and violent protests intensified over the killing of George Floyd.
A 19-year-old protester was shot dead in Detroit last night, while soldiers in North Carolina and in New York have been ordered to be ready to move in within four hours and troops in Colorado and Kansas within 24 hours.
Police said the man was killed after shots were fired at a crowd of people near Detroit's Greektown entertainment district last night with dozens of protesters out on the streets, but officers were not involved in the shooting.
The suspect pulled up to the crowd in a Dodge Durango and fired shots at around 11.30pm, and the man was pronounced dead in hospital. No details about who fired the shots were immediately available, police said.
Crowds took to the streets in the city after former officer Derek Chauvin was charged with murder over the death of Mr Floyd, a black man who was handcuffed and pleaded for air as an officer pressed his knee on his neck.
In Detroit last night, officers - many in riot gear - confronted the protesters in the Michigan city and formed lines across streets. Dozens of arrests were made and police said many were not Detroit residents.
By midnight, the crowd had thinned considerably as police shot canisters of gas toward the protesters. The demonstration began earlier in the day and was peaceful as protesters marched by Detroit Police Headquarters.
'We know that the individuals from outside the city of Detroit who converged at the protest location don't represent this city,' Police Chief James Craig said. The number of arrests and injuries is not yet available.
The move to put the Army on a short-term notice comes after the US President asked Defense Secretary Mark Esper for military options in tackling the escalating civil unrest spreading across America, according to sources.
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