Drake, the singer behind the hits "One Dance" and "Telephone," reacted to the shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana through a letter he posted on his Instagram account. The letter was posted just hours after the second video of Sterling's shooting surfaced.
In the letter, Drake, who is a Canadian citizen, called the U.S. his second home, which is why he was deeply affected by the events that took place on July 5 when two Baton Rouge police officers shot and killed Sterling, Billboard reported.
The rapper noted that this latest incident, as the others before it, once again highlights the growing issue between law enforcers and citizens. He stressed that incidents such as this one can be triggered by a pattern that anyone can fall victim to.
"It's impossible to ignore that the relationship between black and brown communities and law enforcement remains as strained as it was decades ago," Drake posted on his Instagram account. "No one begins their life as a hashtag. Yet the trend of being reduced to one continues."
Drake ended his letter by sending his condolences to the family of Sterling and to those who have lost friends and loved ones in a similar manner.
The artist noted that he decided to write the letter after seeing the clip of Sterling's shooting. According to CNN, the second video, which was posted online on Wednesday, was taken from a closer angle than the first one and lasts about 38 seconds. It shows Sterling lying on his back while the two police officers, who responded to a 911 call about a man with a deadly weapon, are pinning him down. Then, a few seconds into the video, the camera pans away from the encounter as shots are fired.
The video then shows Sterling with blood on his chest and one of the officers lying on the pavement with his gun pointed at his head. The other police officer then pulls something out of Sterling's right pocket. According to a witness, the item recovered from Sterling's body was a gun.
The two white officers involved in the incident, Howie Lake II and Blane Salamoni, are currently on administrative leave as the investigation on the matter continues. According to Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. of Baton Rouge, Sterling was armed when he was confronted by Lake and Salamoni outside of a convenience store on Tuesday.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE
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