Black Teen Killed by Police in Wisconsin

A police officer in Madison, Wisconsin, shot to death a black teenager last night during a confrontation, prompting a protest at the scene and chants of "black lives matter." The dead youth has been identified as 19-year-old Tony Robinson, reports NBC News. The police chief gives this account of what happened: An officer responded to reports of a man jumping in and out of traffic and followed him to an apartment. He heard a disturbance inside, entered, and was assaulted by the man. “The officer did draw his revolver and subsequently shot the subject,” said chief Mike Koval. He added that he did not know whether Robinson was armed.

Mayor Paul Soglin called it a "tragedy beyond description," and says an outside investigation of the shooting will be conducted, as mandated by a new state law. Robinson's grandmother tells the Wisconsin State Journal that her grandson had no weapon, asking, "What happened to your Taser?" A crowd gathered at the scene—see this Twitter photo—and Robinson's aunt says the family wants things to stay calm. “Protest peacefully, please, but protest ... don’t let it be in vain." (More Tony Robinson stories.)