CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA — Riots hit Charlotte on Wednesday after a black man who cops claim was armed was killed by police a day earlier. <br /> <br />Keith Lamont Scott was shot to death by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Brentley Vinson, WCCB Charlotte reported, citing local police. <br /> <br />Police were investigating an apartment complex and looking to serve a warrant on Tuesday afternoon. The warrant wasn’t for Scott, but another suspect. <br /> <br />Police said officers saw Scott sitting in his car, before exiting the vehicle armed with a gun, then getting back inside. <br /> <br />Scott’s family said he was actually holding a book. <br /> <br />As they approached the car, police allege that Scott got out and “posed an imminent deadly threat to the officers”. The cops then opened fire and shot Scott dead. <br /> <br />A man claiming to be Scott’s brother said in a video posted to Twitter that Scott was reading in his car when the shooting took place. He explained that undercover cops got out of a truck and yelled “Gun!”, then shot Scott to death. <br /> <br />As news of the shooting spread, protests, robbing, looting and riots broke out across the city. Protesters reportedly chanted “Black Lives Matter”, citing police discrimination against black people. <br /> <br />At least four cops were injured and a civilian was shot in the head, WCCB Charlotte reported. Officials said that person is in critical condition in the hospital. <br /> <br />North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory was forced to declare a State of Emergency in Charlotte and deploy the National Guard to the city.
