RENO, Nev. (AP) - The Latest on a driver plowing through a crowd in Reno, Nevada, during a protest to support Native American rights (all times local):
3:15 p.m.
Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve (SHEE’-vee) is assuring city residents that police are working to make sense of the events after a pickup truck plowed into a crowd of Native American rights activists protesting on the street in the downtown casino district.
Schieve issued a statement on behalf of herself and the city council Tuesday afternoon that said the incident is “troubling and saddens us deeply.”
Police say an 18-year-old male pickup driver and 17-year-old passenger contacted police three minutes after Monday evening’s incident beneath the famous arch with the city’s slogan, “Biggest Little City in the World.” A 59-year-old woman has been hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Three others were hurt.
The mayor says she takes such matters very seriously. She says Reno police will “hold anyone responsible accountable for their actions” once a thorough investigation is completed.
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1:15 p.m.
Reno Police Chief Jason Soto is describing as horrifying some of the video footage his officers are sifting through as they investigate all aspects of a pickup truck plowing into a crowd during a Native American rights demonstration.
Soto said Tuesday the 18-year-old male pickup driver and 17-year-old passenger contacted police three minutes after Monday evening’s incident beneath the famous arch with the city’s slogan, “Biggest Little City in the World.”
A 59-year-old woman has been hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Three others were hurt.
Soto told reporters the demonstrators were walking in the street without a permit but that he could release no other details about what led to the incident.
He says investigators are still combing through a great deal of video that witnesses shot mostly on cellular phones. He’s urging others to come forward with any video or photographs they might have.
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12:40 p.m.
Police Chief Jason Soto says detectives are using witness accounts and cellphone video to look at all aspects of a pickup truck plowing into a crowd of people during a Native American rights demonstration in downtown Reno.
Soto wouldn’t say Tuesday whether the case is being investigated as a hate crime.
The driver wasn’t immediately arrested after the Monday evening incident beneath the city’s famous “Biggest Little City in the World” arch.
Soto says a 59-year-old woman who was struck by the pickup is hospitalized with injuries that aren’t believed to be life-threatening. Authorities say four other people suffered minor injuries.
Police say the driver stopped several blocks away, and both he and a passenger in the pickup are cooperating.
One witness has described the incident as a hate crime, with the driver and passenger yelling obscenities at the crowd earlier in the day.
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10:15 a.m.
The founder of a Native American rights group that was rallying in Reno, Nevada, when a pickup truck plowed through protesters wants to know why police haven’t arrested the driver.
One woman remained hospitalized Tuesday with non-life threatening injuries. Four others suffered minor injuries Monday night in what one witness described as a hate crime.
Mike Graham, founder of the Oklahoma-based United Native American Association, said he planned to meet with Reno police Tuesday to find out more about the incident.
A witness says two men in the truck had been yelling obscenities at the protesters earlier in the day.
Reno Police Sgt. James Pitsnogel said the driver and a passenger were interviewed and are cooperating.
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5:49 a.m.
Authorities say a pickup truck plowed through a crowd protesting in support of Native American rights on Columbus Day in Reno, Nevada, leaving five hurt.
Police say about 40 people were blocking Virginia Street in front of the city’s famous arch Monday night. A Facebook Live video of the protest shows a pickup truck revving its engine in front of the crowd. Several protesters confronted the driver and the passenger before the truck drives through the crowd.
Police say the driver stopped several blocks away and called them to tell his side of the story. Investigators interviewed both the passenger and the driver and say they are cooperating.
Police say one woman was hospitalized for non-life threatening injuries to her legs. Four others were treated at the scene.
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