Police investigating after man severely injured from being hit by Confederate monument in Virginia

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WWBT/AP) - A man is fighting for his life after he was hit in the head by a Confederate monument in Portsmouth on Wednesday night.

Protesters knocked the heads off the statues of four Confederates and pulled one of the statues to the ground after the City Council scheduled a hearing on the monument’s fate for the end of July. Mayor John Rowe said police didn’t intervene because that could have escalated the situation.

A protester was hit in the head and knocked unconscious as the monument fell. He was hospitalized with what police said were life-threatening injuries.

Virginia State Police said they will conduct the investigation into the injury incident, per the request of the Portsmouth Police Department. Portsmouth police are handling all other investigations.

The Commonwealth Attorney’s Office for the city of Portsmouth will determine if any charges will be filed.

James Boyd, the Portsmouth NAACP chapter president, said that “people are just tired of being sick and tired” and that the monument represents more than 400 years of oppression.

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