CRIME

Jury convicts man who wounded black protesters in Minnesota

Associated Press
Published | Updated

This undated photo provided by the Hennepin County Jail shows Allen Scarsella. A jury on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, convicted Scarsella of assault for opening fire and wounding five men demonstrating against the fatal shooting of a black man by Minneapolis police officers. (Hennepin County Jail via AP) (The Associated Press)

FILE - This undated file photo released by Javille Burns shows her brother, Jamar Clark, who was shot Nov. 15, 2015, after a confrontation with two police officers and died a day later. A jury on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, convicted Allen Scarsella, a Minnesota man, of assault for opening fire and wounding five black men demonstrating against the fatal shooting of Clark. (Jamar Clark/Javille Burns via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

A jury has convicted a Minnesota man who shot and wounded five black men demonstrating against the fatal shooting of a black man by Minneapolis police officers.

Twenty-four-year-old Allen Scarsella of Bloomington was found guilty of assault and riot charges Wednesday. Scarsella was accused of shooting and injuring the men at a Black Lives Matter protest after the death of Jamar Clark in 2015.

Attorneys for Scarsella and the three men he was with say their clients went to the protest outside a north Minneapolis police station to livestream video on Nov. 23, 2015.

Scarsella testified that he opened fire to protect himself after he says he was punched and told to leave by protesters.

The other three men have pleaded not guilty and await trial.