Alton Sterling’s family ‘heartbroken’ over attack on Baton Rouge police
The family of Alton Sterling, who was shot and killed by police in Baton Rouge earlier this month, is once again calling for peace after a shooting that left three officers dead in their city Sunday.
“My family is heartbroken for the officers and their families,” Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of Sterling’s son, said in a statement released by her lawyers Sunday. “We are praying for them, city leadership and the Baton Rouge community. As my son Cameron and I have said from the beginning, all we want is peace. We reject violence of any kind directed at members of law enforcement or citizens. My hope is that one day soon we can come together and find solutions to the very important issues facing our nation rather than continuing to hurt one another.”
Sterling’s aunt, Veda Washington-Abusaleh, echoed that same sentiment in a tearful interview with Baton Rouge’s local Fox affiliate WGMB-TV.
“We are peaceful people,” Washington-Abusaleh said. “We don’t want no more bloodshed.”
Video footage of both Sterling’s death and the fatal shooting of another African-American man, Philando Castile, by a police officer in Minnesota a day later, set off nationwide demonstrations against racism and police violence. Though largely peaceful, tensions escalated after a sniper opened fire on police at a protest in Dallas, killing five officers.
While the Dallas gunman reportedly told police he was upset about the deaths of Sterling and Castile, officials have yet to confirm whether the suspect in the latest Baton Rouge attack was also motivated by the recent police shootings. However, Louisiana state police Col. Mike Edmonson said Monday that the shooter’s “movements, his direction, his attention” clearly indicated that he was “seeking out” police.
Slideshow: Several police officers shot in Baton Rouge >>>
Washington-Abusaleh made clear that she and her family do not condone killing of any kind and urged those who seek to fight violence with violence to “leave, go home.”
“That’s how this all started, with bloodshed,” she said. “Now we have to grieve all over again.”
Sterling’s family, including his son Cameron, have been vocal advocates for peace in the wake of his death.
Last week, the 15-year-old Sterling told reporters in Baton Rouge that he believes the outrage over his father’s death should bring people “together, not against each other,” and implored those who protest to remain nonviolent.
“Protest in peace. Not guns, not drugs, not alcohol, not violence,” he said. “Everyone needs to protest in the right way, with peace. No violence. None whatsoever.”
Cameron reiterated this position during a televised town hall on race relations with President Obama, in which he called on the president to “help unite all the races of the world.”
Slideshows:
Slideshow: Mourning Alton Sterling >>>
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