Car drives into crowd, injuring 3 at St. Louis rally for trans woman killed by police

A St. Louis march to honor a transgender woman killed by police took a violent turn Wednesday night when a vehicle drove slowly into the crowd.

Three people suffered minor injuries, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. People had gathered in honor of Kiwi Herring, who was fatally shot Tuesday by St. Louis police.

A police spokeswoman and a witness gave differing accounts to the Post-Dispatch.

Witness Keith Rose said the driver raised both middle fingers at the group before accelerating through the crowd.

But St. Louis police spokeswoman Schron Jackson said three protesters had jumped onto the car and were injured falling off when the driver pulled away. She also said the driver’s vehicle had been surrounded by protesters, and only after honking and attempting to drive around them did the driver accelerate through the crowd.

A video captured by Heather De Mian provides a glimpse of the incident as it unfolds.

Others posted their reactions to Twitter. One wrote that all other cars before the incident “turned around or took a side street.” The driver in question, according to the witness, “drove UP to the intersection honking.”

One person wrote that “a white man tried to run us over in his Mercedes. St. Louis. Amerikkka.”

The driver was taken into custody about a block away after initially refusing to stop.

Police said Herring was killed after using a knife to wound an officer, the Post-Dispatch reports. But Herring’s friends and family say Herring and her partner felt threatened by neighbors and was not threatening police with the knife.

An activist against gun violence wrote that Herring was the 17th trans woman of color to be killed by fatal violence in 2017. The Human Rights Campaign reports that trans killings in 2017 are outpacing those reported in 2016. Through Aug. 12, at least 17 trans people were fatally shot or killed by violent means. In all of 2016, advocates tracked at least 22 deaths.

A Facebook page has been created to raise funds for Herring’s funeral expenses and for her family. The page had raised nearly $12,000 as of Thursday morning, surpassing the $10,000 goal.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Car drives into crowd, injuring 3 at St. Louis rally for trans woman killed by police."