President Donald Trump has offered his administration's "highest respect" to the family of David Dorn, the retired St. Louis police captain who was shot and killed Tuesday while trying to protect a friend's pawn shop from looters.
"Our highest respect to the family of David Dorn, a Great Police Captain from St. Louis, who was viciously shot and killed by despicable looters last night," the president said on Twitter. "We honor our police officers, perhaps more than ever before. Thank you!"
Dorn, 77, was shot at about 2:30 a.m. by looters attacking a St. Louis pawn shop early Tuesday, and his killing was broadcast on Facebook Live. He died on the sidewalk in front of Lee's Pawn & Jewelry, and police have not yet made any arrests, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A reward for information that would lead to an arrest of his killer or killers climbed to $40,000 by Wednesday afternoon. The killing happened during rioting following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis.
In a statement from the White House, the administration said that Americans don't want violence and that Floyd's family has pleaded with protesters to be peaceful.
The White House also listed several links to outline just some of the violence that has happened, including showing multiple black-owned businesses destroyed in Philadelphia, NYPD officers being attacked on the streets, and a store owner condemning rioters in New York.
Trump "wants justice for every victim of rioting AND for every American who has suffered from racial cruelty," the statement said. "Oftentimes, these are the same victims. We need to stand up for them, not look on idly as their neighborhoods are destroyed by criminals."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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