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Protesters delay start of NBA game over fatal shooting by Sacramento police

Protesters chant as they block the entrance to the Golden 1 Center during a demonstration Thursday in Sacramento, California.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Protesters in Sacramento, California, blocked the entrance to an arena where an NBA game was scheduled Thursday night, CNN reported.

People holding signs such as "Shut it down!" outside the Golden1 Center demonstrated against Sunday's fatal shooting of Stephon Clark, ESPN reported.

Clark, 22, an unarmed black man, was shot by police in his grandmother’s backyard, CNN reported.

The protesters delayed the start of the game for about 20 minutes, chanting “Black Lives Matter,” ESPN reported.

Police officials said the officers who fired at Clark believed he had a gun, CNN reported. Investigators said they did not find a weapon, only a cell phone.

The Kings defeated the Atlanta Hawks 105-90 in a nearly empty arena, ESPN reported. There were no arrests.

After the game, Kings owner Vivek Ranadive addressed the fans who did make it into the arena, expressing sympathies to Clark’s family.

"We are so very sorry for your loss,'' Ranadive said. "We at the Kings recognize people's abilities to protest peacefully, and we respect that. We here at the Kings realize that we have a big platform. It's a privilege but it's also a responsibility. It's a responsibility that we take very seriously, and we stand here before you, old, young, black, white, brown, and we are all united in our commitment.

"We recognize that it is not just business as usual, and we are going to work really hard to bring everybody together to make the world a better place, starting in our own community. We are going to work really hard to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again.''

 

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