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One Cleared, 2 More Questioned in Shooting Near Black Lives Matter Protest

One man taken into custody was cleared and released while two others turned themselves in. Five people suffered injuries in the shooting.
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Minneapolis police have released one of two people taken into custody after the shooting of five people near a “Black Lives Matter” protest over the police killing of an unarmed man — while two other people have turned themselves in.

Police said the person released was determined to have not been at the scene of Monday night’s shooting, in which five people suffered injuries that were not life threatening.

Police said earlier that a Hispanic man and a white man were taken in for questioning. The Hispanic man was later cleared, while the other man, a 23-year-old, was arrested, police said. His name was not released pending charges, police said.

Meanwhile, two other men, both white, turned themselves in Tuesday afternoon and are being questioned, police said in a statement.

The shooting happened about a block away from the Minneapolis Police Department’s 4th Precinct, where Black Lives Matter protesters have demonstrated following the Nov. 15 police shooting of Jamar Clark, who was unarmed.

Related: Minnesota Governor Asks DOJ to Review Police Actions

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said that if police present a case against anyone suspected in Monday’s shooting near the protest "we will seek, as we always do, to bring the most serious felony charges that the evidence permits."

Police haven’t said what may have motivated Monday's shooting, and said the matter is still under investigation. A witness told NBC News that a group of three men were "yelling and being aggressive" and were being escorted away by demonstrators when gunfire erupted.

Minneapolis' Black Lives Matter group was among those calling the shootings at the protest a hate crime.

The prosecutor’s office also said Tuesday that a case in the shooting of Clark would be presented to a grand jury.

According to police, Clark was a suspect in an assault and was interfering with paramedics who were trying to treat a victim. He was shot in the head, officials have said. It is unclear whether Clark was handcuffed during the scuffle. The FBI is among several agencies investigating the shooting.

Image:
Hundreds of Black Lives Matter demonstrators and supporters occupy the street in front of the federal building on Nov. 24 in Minneapolis, after marching from the Police Department's Fourth Precinct.Jim Mone / AP