A black man who had been acting erratically, prompting protesters to quickly gather and accuse officers of an unjustified killing, was fatally shot by the police in California.

The incident took place in El Cajon, 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of San Diego. It was the latest in a string of killings of black men by police that have fueled outrage across America.

El Cajon police said in a statement, that, two police officers encountered the unidentified man, who was in his 30s, behind a restaurant after receiving reports of someone "not acting like himself" and walking in traffic. The police said that, the man, who was pacing back and forth, refused officers' orders to take his hand out of his pocket.

According to the police account, at one point, as the officers tried to talk to the man, he "rapidly drew an object from his front pants pocket, placed both hands together and extended them rapidly toward the officer taking up what appeared to be a shooting stance."

"They came out, guns drawn, three of them, and they shot him five times," protester Rumbideai Mubaiwa said.

"No one warned him, told him to freeze, to stop, anything. And another unarmed black man killed," she said.  

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Nandini