Hillary Clinton will address the two fatal shootings of black men at the hands of law enforcement as a new wave of national outcry sweeps the country after their deaths.
The presumptive Democratic nominee “will address the tragic police-involved deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota,” according to a Clinton aide.
{mosads}Sterling, 37, died early Tuesday after being shot by police outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, La. Castile, 32, was shot and killed Wednesday after a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minn.
Clinton is expected to address the shootings at a previously scheduled campaign stop in Scranton, Pa. The Clinton aide said she will also hold a “special session” in Philadelphia at the African Methodist Episcopal Convention.
The remarks on Friday will come after Clinton commented on the shootings this week via Twitter, saying Thursday that “America woke up to yet another tragedy of a life cut down too soon. Black Lives Matter.”
Clinton will also use the campaign swing to renew support for criminal justice reform, as bipartisan legislation has stalled in Congress.
“Clinton will also discuss her lifelong career advocating for social justice and racial equity issues as well as her vision and agenda to make America a stronger and more inclusive nation for everyone,” the aide said.
The deaths caused frustration from top Democrats, who pointed to a string of similar deaths in cities such as Ferguson., Mo., Baltimore and New York City.
President Obama said Thursday evening that all Americans should be “troubled” by the deaths.
“This is not just a black issue, it is not just an Hispanic issue, it’s an American issue we should all care about,” he told reporters in Warsaw, Poland, during a rare statement made shortly after Air Force One landed there after midnight local time.
Vice President Biden, who will campaign with Clinton on Friday, also weighed in, saying “more black lives lost. More anger I share with the country. More broken trust we have to restore. We all must do this.”
Top Republicans have sometimes accused Obama of not supporting police officers, which they claim has resulted in an uptick in crime.
But Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) noted Thursday evening that the number of police officers killed by gun violence is on the decline, and shows the number of people killed by police can also be reduced.
“How will our nation bring down the number of people, especially African-American males, especially young African-American males, especially unarmed African-American males killed by police?” Kaine, considered a potential Clinton VP pick, asked. “Because we will decide that we must care about it.”
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