Michael Brown’s teenage pal, who was shot by cops during protests in Ferguson, Mo., Sunday night, is clearly seen on video brandishing a gun just moments before he was wounded, officials said Tuesday.
Tyrone Harris Jr., critically wounded in the shootout late Sunday, opened fire on an unmarked police van on the first anniversary of Brown’s death in a scuffle with police, cops said.
In a 13-second clip taken from a security camera of an insurance office on West Florissant Avenue, Harris, 18, is seen grabbing a handgun from his waistband and opening fire on plainclothes cops.
He remains hospitalized in critical condition.
He has been charged with a slew of felonies, including five counts of armed criminal action and four counts of first-degree assault on a law-enforcement officer.
His father had disputed the police account of the shooting, but did not discuss the incident after the video was released.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Ferguson, an armed militia group called the Oath Keepers was patrolling the area Tuesday to the dismay of both protesters and police.
The group wore camouflage bulletproof vests and brandished rifles on West Florissant Avenue, the center of protests for the past several days.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar called their presence “both unnecessary and inflammatory.”
Belmar plans to ask county prosecutor Bob McCulloch about the legality of armed patrols by the far-right anti-government activist group, which consists largely of past and present members of the military, first responders and police officers.
Oath Keepers previously showed up in Ferguson in November after a grand jury declined to indict former Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Brown, 18.
About a half-dozen Oath Keepers, all of whom appeared to be white, interacted freely with police late Monday and early Tuesday, but endured catcalls and jeers from demonstrators.
Protest organizer Nabeehah Azeez called the presence of the armed men “a contradiction in how things work.”
“The rules don’t apply to everyone,” she said.
“If those were black men walking around with rifles, they probably wouldn’t be living today.”
