State of emergency declared in US city Charlotte amid violent protests

People run from flash-bang grenades in uptown Charlotte, NC during a protest of the police shooting of Keith Scott, in Charlotte, North Carolina, US, September 21, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

One Video footage posted online showed some rioters broke into one restaurant, named The Garden Grille and Bar, and smashed the windows of the front doors.

As of midnight, some rioters blocked traffic on the highway I-277 at the Caldwell Bridge, while throwing objects at passing vehicles.

The protests and violence were triggered off by a fatal shooting incident Tuesday afternoon.

Police officer identified as Brentley Vinson, also an African American, shot and killed Scott at an apartment complex Tuesday afternoon while searching for someone with an outstanding warrant.

Police said Scott was holding a gun when he was exiting the car, a claim strongly denied by his family which insisted that he was only holding a book instead of a gun.

The incident immediately sparked protests Tuesday evening when hundreds of African Americans gathered at The Village at College Downs apartment complex on the Old Concord Road, where the shooting occurred, demanding for justice.

Some protesters chanted "Black lives matter" and "Hands up, don't shoot."

The protests quickly turned violent when protesters surrounded the police in riot gear. They threw glass bottles, rocks and garbage at the police and vandalized several police cars at the scene. The police used tear gas to disperse the protesters.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) said early Wednesday that more than 12 officers were wounded in the clashes Tuesday night.

The latest violence and riots again highlight the tense racial relations in the US between the police and African Americans, who have long complained about racial discrimination by police and the racial profiling that often leads to the police killing of innocent black people.