Hundreds of mourners, including family members and activists, have attended the funeral of a black man who was shot dead by police in Minneapolis.

Daunte Wright, 20, was killed during a routine traffic stop in the Brooklyn Center suburb of the city on 11 April.

The city was already on edge amid the high-profile trial of a white ex-police officer for the death of George Floyd, a black man, last year.

That officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder on Tuesday.

The spate of incidents in Minneapolis has triggered national outrage and widespread protests. They also prompted the US justice department to launch an investigation into the practices and conduct of the city's police department.

The investigation will examine whether there has been a pattern "of unconstitutional or unlawful policing" in Minneapolis, Attorney General Merrick Garland said earlier this week.

Hundreds of mourners, many wearing facemasks due to the coronavirus pandemic, gathered at a historically black church in the north of the city on Thursday afternoon to remember Mr Wright.

Mourners included the Democratic governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, who issued a proclamation calling for a statewide moment of silence during the first two minutes of Mr Wright's funeral from noon. The edict linked Mr Wright's death to "deep, systemic racism".

The Reverend Al Sharpton, a veteran civil rights leader, delivered the eulogy at the Shiloh Temple International Ministries, just as he did at Mr Floyd's funeral last year.

Rev Sharpton spoke about the rallying cry "no justice, no peace" that has been chanted at civil rights protests for decades. "It became the chant of our movement," he said. "The absence of justice is the absence of peace."

Share This Post