Antwon Rose Pittsburgh Protests: Parkway East Shuts Down, Protesters Swamp Interstate 376

The fatal shooting of African-American teenager Antwon Rose, a Woodland Hills High School student, prompted a second round of protests from Pittsburgh residents Thursday. The shooting was captured on video, which went viral on Facebook earlier this week.

A crowd of protesters proceeded from Route 30 in Forest Hills, Pittsburgh, over to Interstate 376 — also known as the Parkway East — around 8 p.m. EDT, marching on both sides, forcing police to shut it off completely, local news outlet Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Many of them sat down on the road with chants of “No justice! No peace!” Among the protesters was a little girl who beat to accompany the chants.

According to a report, the second night of protests was not planned, but happened in an organic manner.

A number of people who sat down on concrete, turned on their cell phone lights for the deceased. People also released balloons shaped as “1” and “7” to signify the age in which Rose was killed.

Rev. Brandon Humphrey from Union Baptist Church in Monessen addressed the crowd on the Interstate with a bullhorn, saying "We leave in peace." It seemed to energize the protesters who showed no signs of slowing down as they made their intentions pretty clear: "We might stay all night!"

The situation grew mildly tensed as police officers arrived on motorcycles around 9:30 p.m. EDT and tried to clear the long line of traffic that were backed up for miles on the Interstate 376. Although some of the protesters angrily addressed the small number of law enforcement officers — mostly with statements like “the police killed him” — the officers chose not engage with the crowd and provided as little response as possible.

The protests came after angry residents flocked into the East Pittsburgh Police Department on Wednesday demanding answers about Rose’s death. The 17-year-old was unarmed when he was shot three times by a police officer as he and another individual fled on foot from a car, after the cop ordered the driver of the vehicle to get out.

“I understand in today’s atmosphere anytime a young man is killed there’s cause for outrage in some areas,” Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough told reporters on Wednesday. “However, I would urge people to give us time to conduct an objective investigation.”

The identity of the officer who shot Rose was revealed Thursday as Michael Rosfeld.

He has been an officer of the law since 2011 but joined the East Pittsburgh Police three weeks ago. Rosfeld had previously worked for Oakmont, Harmer and University of Pittsburgh police departments.

He told ABC-affiliated WTAE he was still trying to process what happened the night of the shooting and what went through his mind moments before he pulled the trigger. Rosfeld said he was not yet ready to discuss the facts of the shooting in public yet, as he and his family dealt with the consequences of his actions.

However, he said he received a lot of support from his department, adding he had no knowledge there existed a video of the shooting on social media.

The following statement was released Thursday by the Borough of East Pittsburgh Mayor, Council and police:

"We are profoundly saddened by the death of Antwon Rose. This is a tragic loss for his family and friends as well as for our community as a whole. We offer our deepest sympathy and condolences to Mr. Rose’s family and friends, the residents of East Pittsburgh and all those affected by this tragedy.

This is a very stressful time for our community. We are seeking truth and answers but the process takes time. We hope that everyone can respect this process. We will get through this together as a community.

We have confidence in the Allegheny County Police and District Attorney’s Office and we will be transparent with any and all information that they need during the investigation.

At this time, we ask for the public to be patient and respectful of their fellow neighbors as the investigation continues to move forward."