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Black man killed by Sacramento police after he allegedly pointed cellphone toward them
Sacramento police shot and killed an unarmed black man. (Image source: Sacramento Police Department video screenshot)

Black man killed by Sacramento police after he allegedly pointed cellphone toward them

Sacramento police officers shot and killed a 22-year-old black man who was carrying a cellphone when they confronted him Sunday night.

Officers were responding to a call about someone breaking car windows nearby when they encountered Stephon Clark in the backyard of the home he shared with his grandparents and siblings, his brother Stevante Clark told the Sacramento Bee.

Clark, unarmed, died from multiple gunshot wounds at the scene.

(Content warning: video below may be disturbing to some viewers):

The shooting begins at about the 7:40 mark.

What happened?

Two officers, who were wearing bodycams,  responded to the car break-ins call at about 9:18 p.m. Sunday night.

Police searched the area for a tall, thin black man who was believed to be wearing a black hoodie and dark pants, according to a news release.

Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies spotted a man in a backyard at about 9:25 p.m. and told the officers on the scene that he had just shattered a window with a toolbar.

The police on the ground spotted Clark along the side of his house and ordered him to stop, but he fled to the backyard.

Vance Chandler, a department spokesman, said the man tracked by the helicopter was the same person confronted by officers, the Bee reported.

"Prior to the shooting, the involved officers saw the suspect facing them, advance forward with his arms extended, and holding an object in his hands. At the time of the shooting, the officers believed the suspect was pointing a firearm at them," the department said in a news release.

"Fearing for their safety," the officers fired multiple rounds at Clark at 9:26 p.m., hitting him several times, the department said.

"After an exhaustive search, scene investigators did not locate any firearms. The only items found near the suspect was a cell phone," according to the release.

Did police ever find the toolbar?

Authorities recovered two items near a broken sliding glass door next door to Clark's home that they believe may have been the "toolbar."

The items found were a cinder block and a piece of aluminum.

On Monday, police said Clark used the "toolbar" to break the neighbor's sliding glass door, and they believe he smashed the windows of at least three cars.

Was his family home at the time of the shooting?

Clark's grandmother was in the dining room when she heard four gunshots.

“The only thing that I heard was pow, pow, pow, pow, and I got to the ground," Sequita Thompson said.

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