Houston teen gains national attention in shooting protests

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The deadly shooting of an unarmed black teen by a police officer in Missouri has stirred up emotions all around the country. One student's tweet on the topic has even gone viral.

A rising senior at HSPVA joined with a social media movement protesting what's happening in Ferguson. A tweet he sent made the front page of the New York Times.

Tyler Atkins, 17, says what happened to Michael Brown is a fear black youth live with every day.

"When he was shot, I kind of put myself in that place," Atkins said. "I wondered how would people see me and people would see other black men because of this Michael Brown situation."

Brown was unarmed when a Ferguson, Missouri, officer shot and killed him Saturday. Police say the two fought beforehand. Atkins is one of thousands who joined the Twitter movement #IfTheyGunnedMeDown protesting the initial pictures released of Brown that they believe depict an inaccurate image of a young man the public would believe would fight an officer.

His tweet of himself in hip hop attire next to one of him in a tuxedo made the front page of the New York Times.

Atkins explained, "I used those two pictures because I wanted to say if they took that picture, if the media took that picture would they use it for their personal gain at the expense of my character instead of the other picture which shows that I play the saxophone, which is an accomplishment for me."

Violent protests have been carried out on the streets of Ferguson, with police donning military gear, patrolling the streets in armored cars and throwing tear gas at protestors. Businesses have been damaged by looters. Carmen Watkins with the NAACP saw it up close. She just got back to Houston from St. Louis Wednesday morning. She worked with the two St. Louis chapters on a town hall.

"Quite frankly it was the first gathering that was nonviolent and that was not shut down, where there was no rioting. Police did not show up," she said.

Watkins says one of the big questions that'll take time to answer is what does the Michael Brown shooting say for other communities around America, including the Houston area.