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Charlotte Shooting: Video of Keith Lamont Scott's Killing Offers Few Answers

The wrenching footage obtained by NBC News reveals a widow's anguish but little new insight into the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott.
Cell phone video shows the moments leading up to the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Cell phone video shows the moments leading up to the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina.Rakeyia Scott

The new video of the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott shows a chaotic confrontation on a normally quiet North Carolina street and the anguished cries of a wife watching as her husband is killed.

But the wrenching cell phone footage obtained by NBC News and other news outlets offers few new insights into the latest shooting of black man by police, a shooting that has already touched off three nights of protests in Charlotte and renewed the debate over how law enforcement treats people of color.

This is what the new video shows:

— Police appear convinced that Scott was armed. "Drop the gun, drop the gun," the officers can be heard yelling repeatedly. Police later claimed Scott was holding a handgun as he exited his vehicle and became threatening as police approached him.

The video, which was shot on Tuesday by his wife some distance away from the action, does not show Scott holding a weapon. Nor does it capture the exact moment when he was felled by police bullets.

Members of Scott's family initially said Scott was unarmed. Police have said that a gun was recovered "in close proximity" to Scott. A photo, previously obtained by NBC News from local affiliate WCNC, appears to show a gun at the scene.

Related: Scott Family Sees Police Video, Says He Was Walking Backwards When Shot

— Scott's wife, Rakeyia Scott, told the police her husband was not armed and repeatedly yelled at them not to shoot him. She could also be heard yelling that Scott had suffered a traumatic brain injury and was on medication. "He's not going to do anything to you guys. He just took his medicine," she says in the video.

— Scott, according to police, had climbed back into his pickup before he emerged again and was shot. His wife is heard yelling "Keith, don't let them break the windows! Come on out of the car." For reasons still unclear, she can also be heard telling her husband, "Keith, don't do it!"

— After the four shots were fired, Rakeyia Scott did not realize at first that her husband had been hit. "Did you shoot him? Did you shoot him?" she asked.

— Scott family members said right after the shooting that Scott was carrying a book, not a gun. But there is no sign of a book in this video.

— Rakeyia Scott called 9-1-1 almost immediately after the fatal shots rang out and had warned police she was recording the confrontation.

Related: Man Arrested in Fatal Shooting at Charlotte Protest

Police video of the shooting has not been released. Police Chief Kerr Putney said the video doesn't show "absolute definitive, visual evidence" that Scott brandished a weapon at the officers, but the video supports the police account.

Scott's family watched the video Thursday, and an attorney representing the family said "it is impossible to discern from the videos what, if anything, Mr. Scott is holding in his hands." Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts also watched the police video and described it Thursday as "ambiguous."

The State Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the investigation into the shooting, said Friday it will not release the police video at this time. Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte District Audria Bridges said she had no comment on the video released by Scott's wife.

"We are well on our way to conducting a thorough and comprehensive investigation," Bridges said.