Another African American Man shot on Saturday in Texas

Police shoot Alva Braziel in Houston, Texas

After a tragic week, including shootings of two black men by police, and then the shooting of 12 police officers (five of whom died) by an armed vigilante at a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, Texas, another police-related death has occurred in Texas. On Saturday officers shot Alva Braziel, an African American man in Houston, near a gas station. The shooting was captured on gas station surveillance video, and may contradict the officers’ statements.

According to the officers responding to the scene, Braziel was in the street, turning around and waving a gun around, when he pointed it at them, precipitating the fatal shooting. However, preliminary viewing of surveillance footage suggests that Braziel did not have a gun, and had his hands up in the air, when the police shot him. A careful study of the footage, which shows the shooting in the background, needs to be undertaken.

Watch footage of Alva Braziel’s death by Police in Houston, Texas (ThinkProgress.com)

Photo: ThinkProgress.com (screen shot)

Texas Flooding: 8 dead in Houston after heavy rains

Texas Flooding

Severe flooding has claimed the lives of at least eight people in Houston, Texas, and over 1,200 have been rescued. Large sections of the Houston metro region are under water on Tuesday, with waters reaching a depth of 15 feet in some locations.

The massive flooding was caused by heavy rain, which fell at a rate of 4 inches per hour Monday. Between 10 and 20 inches of rain fell on parts of Harris county. Damns are in danger of breaking, and drivers trapped in their vehicles on flooded roads are at particularly high risk of drowning.

Learn more about severe flooding in Houston, Texas (The Weather Channel)