Supporters hold rally to mark George Floyd death

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota－Supporters and relatives of George Floyd marched on Sunday ahead of the first anniversary of his murder by a white police officer, a killing that sparked a reckoning on racial injustice in the United States.

About 1,500 marchers in Minneapolis joined members of the Floyd family and relatives of other black people who died in encounters with the police.

Floyd, 46, was killed on May 25 last year by police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin was convicted by a jury of murder and manslaughter. He will be sentenced on June 25.

The rally opened with speeches outside the Hennepin County Government Center in central Minneapolis where Chauvin stood trial. His death ignited protests against racial injustice across the US and around the world.

Veteran campaigner Reverend Al Sharpton told the crowd that Floyd's killing was "one of the greatest disgraces in American history".

"What happened to George Floyd, as well as so many others, is driving change not only across America but the world," he said. "They thought that they could get away with it, and you went to the streets, black and white, young and old, in the middle of the pandemic" to call for justice.

"He should not go down in history as just someone with a knee on his neck, but as a man whose death helped 'break the neck' of police racism, brutality and illegality."

However, a deadly shooting occurred in the city the night before supporters and relatives of Floyd held their march. One person was killed and eight injured, with one victim in critical condition. Minneapolis police said a suspect in the shooting had been arrested, while a second suspect had died.

This came as frustration has been running high in the country over mounting gun violence.

A dozen people were killed and about 50 injured in shootings over the weekend, after US President Joe Biden last month branded the country's gun violence an "epidemic".

The spate of shooting incidents included deaths in the states of New Jersey, South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio and Minnesota.

Two people died when gunfire broke out at a house party in Camden, New Jersey, on Saturday night, and at least 12 people were injured, police said. In South Carolina, a 14-year-old girl was killed and 14 people wounded at a concert.

Police in Atlanta, Georgia, found three gunshot victims early on Sunday after responding to a call about shots fired. All three victims were pronounced dead at the scene, US media reported.

Ohio shootings kill 4

Three others were killed and eight injured outside a bar in Youngstown, Ohio, early on Sunday, while a 16-year-old girl was killed and seven people injured in a park in Columbus.

As the country has suffered a series of mass shootings in recent months, Biden has introduced six executive measures aimed at tamping down the crisis, including a proposed rule to halt "ghost guns", as firearms built from home kits are known.

Gun sales jumped at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, 2020 was one of the most violent years in the US in decades. So far this year, there have been at least 200 mass shootings in the United States, data from the Gun Violence Archive showed.

Agencies - Xinhua