AUSTIN (KXAN) — Over the weekend, Austin Police shot three people with “less-lethal” ammunition and left them with injuries so severe that Chief Brian Manley said he was “crushed.” He talked about each at a Monday news conference.
Two of them have been identified. The third, a 20-year-old black man, is in critical condition after being shot in the head. He has not yet been identified.
One of those three people is Saraneka “Nemo” Martin. She is pregnant and was injured in Saturday’s protest. Martin’s husband wrote in a GoFundMe post that Austin Police shot into a crowd of protesters.
“We got up to run for shelter, when horrifically Nemo got shot with projectiles in her abdomen and in her back while pregnant,” Kenneth Martin wrote.
In a Monday news conference, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said his department is looking into exactly what happened that led to the shooting.
“I know there’s another incident where we have a African American female, pregnant female, that has reportedly been struck with an impact munition to her belly, and that investigation is ongoing, as well,” Manley said.
“She too was brought into police headquarters and was rendered aid to ensure that she received first aid and then was assisted by both medics and APD personnel.”
Saraneka Martin’s friend, Andrew Collins Graham, said Martin is sore, “barely walking,” and “pretty rattled.”
An Austin American-Statesman photographer took a photo of a distressed Martin on the ground after she was shot. Martin later joined Twitter, and responded to the photo, saying simply, “This was me.”
Martin later posted pictures and video of her injuries, showing wounds on her back and stomach.
“I am so grateful for all the support and I hope everyone is just really safe,” she added.