Atlanta Fire crews not entering Wendy's at this time
From CNN's Melissa Alonso
WGCL
Firefighters are not going into the Wendy's restaurant which is on fire, Sgt. Cortez Stafford, Atlanta Fire Rescue's Public Information Officer has said.
Rayshard Brooks was shot by police on Friday near the Wendy's.
Stafford said the fire is in the dinning room and spreading through the drive-thru window.
Protesters are still in the streets and around the Wendy's, making it hard to access the fire. Crews are monitoring the situation to make sure no other structures are impacted, Stafford says.
Watch:
11:06 p.m. ET, June 13, 2020
Atlanta Police Chief says she stepped aside out of "a deep and abiding love for this city and this department"
Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields has released a statement explaining why she stepped down from her role after a black man was shot dead by an officer.
In a statement released Saturday, Shields said:
"For more than two decades, I have served alongside some of the finest men and women in the Atlanta Police Department (APD). Out of a deep and abiding love for this city and this department, I offered to step aside as police chief. APD has my full support, and Mayor Bottoms has my support on the future direction of this department. I have faith in the Mayor, and it is time for the city to move forward and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve."
Earlier, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Shields had offered to step aside. Bottoms said this was Shields' decision, and that she will remain with the city in an undetermined role.
11:02 p.m. ET, June 13, 2020
Georgia Governor releases a statement on the shooting of Rayshard Brooks
From CNN’s Joe Sutton
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp issued a statement earlier this evening via Twitter regarding the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks.
The Governor tweeted that an investigation had been launched into the conduct of the police officers whose actions led to the death of the 27-year-old.
10:31 p.m. ET, June 13, 2020
Flames and smoke seen from inside Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta
From CNN's Melissa Alonso
WGCL
The Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was shot by police Friday is on fire.
Flames and black smoke can be seen coming from the windows of the restaurant. in Atlanta.
Several small fires are also visible around the edge of the parking lot.
10:17 p.m. ET, June 13, 2020
An Atlanta highway is shut down after protesters march onto it
From CNN's Melissa Alonso
WGCL
Protesters have marched onto the Interstate 85 and Interstate 75 connector in Atlanta and dozens of police vehicles have lined the highway.
The interstate has been shut down.
Not far away, a fire has been started outside the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was shot dead by police on Friday night.
The situation is ongoing.
Watch:
9:57 p.m. ET, June 13, 2020
Black Lives Matter mural painted on street in Vermont's capital
Volunteers painted "Black Lives Matter" in front of the Vermont statehouse Saturday. WPTZ, Jay Ericson
Volunteers in Vermont's capital city painted a Black Lives Matter mural on State street in front of the statehouse.
"Legislators, senators, that come into the statehouse, it’s a reminder that we need to make Vermont a more equitable place for everyone," said Noel Riby-Williams, the organizer.
Vermont's capital -- Montpelier -- joins a number of cities which have similar murals, including Washington, D.C, where Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned a mural on the street leading to the White House.
"We take it seriously being a small town state capital, but we hope to cast a pretty large shadow over the rest of the country," said Montpelier Councilman Conor Casey.
Dozens of people volunteered to help, and each took turns to paint.
"People should all be treated equal, but our county doesn’t do that. They should start," said Donald Parmelee, who volunteered.
Montpelier city council unanimously approved the mural earlier in the week. It was funded by local activists and community members who gave all of the materials to make it happen.
9:40 p.m. ET, June 13, 2020
Protesters have torn down a statue in New Orleans and rolled it into the Mississippi River
In New Orleans, protesters tore down a statue of John McDonogh -- a merchant and slave owner who died in 1850.
After damaging the statue, protesters loaded it onto a trucks and took it to the banks of the Mississippi River where it was thrown into the water, according to the New Orleans Police Department.
McDonogh gifted $2 million in his will to the cities of Baltimore and New Orleans to build public schools. Over 30 schools were built in New Orleans with his name and a number after it, according to the New Orleans historical society.
Many of the schools in New Orleans bearing his name were changed in the 80s and 90s due to the controversies over McDonogh’s slave owning history, according to the Historical Society.
Only one school with his name remains open in New Orleans, McDonogh 35, while neighboring Jefferson Parish still has an elementary school named after him, McDonogh 26.
Here's what the scene looked like at Duncan Plaza on Saturday:
A protest Saturday in New Orleans Dan Schap
10:04 p.m. ET, June 13, 2020
Atlanta police use tear gas on protesters
From CNN’s Natasha Chen and Maria Cartaya
Atlanta Police have used tear gas on a crowd protesting outside the Wendy’s restaurant where Rayshard Brooks was shot dead by police Friday.
A flash bang was heard in the area on Saturday evening, as police worked to clear the crowd.
Not long after, a group of the protesters moved onto the Interstate 85 highway and it is now shut down.
The situation is ongoing.
9:51 p.m. ET, June 13, 2020
Attorney for the family of Rayshard Brooks: "They're going to say (a taser is) a deadly weapon. And it's not"
WSB
The attorney for the family of a black man who was shot dead by a police officer has called out a failing in police training.
Less than 24 hours later, Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields stepped down from her job.
"'They're going to say it's (a taser) a deadly weapon. And it's not," Justin Miller, an attorney representing Brooks' family, said a press conference Saturday.
"If a taser isn't a deadly weapon, then it's not a deadly weapon when I have it, it's not a deadly weapon when an officer has it, it's not a deadly weapon when anyone else has it," Miller said. "When our client has the taser, they're going to say it was a deadly weapon -- and it's not."
L. Chris Stewart, who is also representing the family, called out the discrepancy between the responses to the coronavirus and racism, highlighting the huge global effort to find a vaccine for Covid-19, while "nobody" tries to "find a vaccine" for civil rights abuses.
"It's something that we're told to wait for -- it'll come. Nobody's trying to find a vaccine for why officers pull the trigger so quick on African Americans. There's no flood of money or scientists or top experts or our leadership in this country trying to end this epidemic," he said.
"I guess that's because it doesn't hit close to home for the people that care."
