A man was fatally shot Tuesday by Columbus, Ohio, police assigned to help with security at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, officials said.
The afternoon shooting happened near King Park, according to information provided by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner.
The agency responded to a death report at an intersection on the edge of the park, it said in a statement. Officials did not provide the identity and age of the man killed. An autopsy was expected Wednesday, the examiner's office said.
The incident took place about 1 mile from the convention.
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Both the Columbus Division of Police and the Columbus Fraternal Order of Police, the union that represents city rank-and-file officers, said in separate statements that it was made aware of an officer-involved shooting involving Columbus officers in Milwaukee to help with security during the convention.
Columbus police said the incident happened in the "outer perimeter of the RNC, within the operational zone to which our officers were assigned."
It said the shooting appeared unrelated to the convention.
No officers were injured, the Fraternal Order of Police said.
Some city activists who opposed Milwaukee hosting the convention were incensed by the shooting, saying at a news conference that it took place in the park named for civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. in a community already struggling for survival.
"We’re not even two days in to the RNC and we already have a casualty," said Alan Chavoya, a member of the group Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
He continued, "How is that possible?"
The area is also the location of a homeless encampment, the activists said during the news conference.
Two witnesses told reporters that the victim is a homeless man who was trying to get away from police when he was struck by gunfire.
The witnesses, Christina Kugler and Mark Walker, said they didn’t see what happened before the confrontation. They said multiple officers opened fire.
Security video of the confrontation verified by NBC News shows a man go down in a a street as multiple officers approached. But it wasn’t clear what happened before the police and the man entered the camera’s frame.
Milwaukee police have not responded to a request. The department is expected to hold a news conference on the incident Tuesday evening.
Organizers planned an evening vigil for the victim.
On Monday, former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, made an appearance at the convention, which was being held at multiple adjacent venues downtown, including Fiserv Forum and Wisconsin Center District.
His appearance followed an attempted assassination on his life during a political rally on Saturday in Pennsylvania in which he said he was shot in the ear.
Columbus was among a number of other cities that sent law enforcement resources to assist during the convention.
Alicia Victoria Lozano reported from Milwaukee and Dennis Romero from San Diego.
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