A gun-owners group is coming to the defense of Amir Locke, who was shot and killed by police on Wednesday morning in downtown Minneapolis.
"Every citizen has a right to defend themselves in their dwellings," said Rob Dohr, Sr. VP of Government Affairs for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus
In a release sent out Friday morning, the caucus said Locke's death was completely avoidable.
In the release, the group said that Black men, like all citizens have the right to keep and bear arms, and to be secure in their homes against unreasonable search and seizure.
"When I see that video, I see somebody who is asleep, wrapped up in a blanket, waking up to a bunch of confusion commands being yelled at him," Dohr told Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News. "He reacted in a way that a lot of law-abiding gun owners might act."
Locke had a permit to carry a gun, which body cam video shows was in his hand when MPD officers shot him.
Locke was not named in the warrant that police used to get into the apartment.
The statement by the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus came after Minneapolis police released body camera video of the shooting.