The protesters first took to the street on Wednesday evening, and fresh rallies erupted on Thursday in front of the Allegheny County court house.
More than 200 activists gathered for Thursday’s rally, chanting “black lives matter” and “justice for Antwon.”
Antwon Rose, 17, was shot three times by a police officer near Pittsburgh as he ran from the vehicle on Tuesday. A video of the incident was recorded by a bystander’s mobile phone and posted on social media.
The video shows Rose and another man getting out of the passenger side of a car and running when multiple shots are heard immediately after.
Police have indicated that they believe the car was connected to a drive-by shooting they had been investigating.
The shooting officer, whose name has not been released, had been sworn into the police department just a few hours prior to the incident.
Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said Rose was unarmed but two semi-automatic handguns were found on the floor of the vehicle. He said the driver of the vehicle was arrested and released without charges.
Antwon was a “generous, hard working and highly promising student”, his family said in a statement, which was provided by civil rights activist and attorney S Lee Merritt, who is representing the family. “These facts, without more, simply leave very little room to justify the use of deadly force by this officer.”
Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto said this is “a devastating situation” and he is saddened for Rose and his family.
Fatal police shootings and other forms of violence against African Americans by police have sparked massive protests across the US in recent years.
US police killed nearly 1,000 people in 2017, according to a database by The Washington Post.
