Deaths at Occupy Camps Cast Dark Light on Protests

Occupy Oakland protesters have been given 24 hours to leave Frank Ogawa Plaza, after a man was shot dead on the outskirts of the camp Thursday evening.

The shooting is being widely reported as part of a dispute between two groups of people, although it is not known if it was linked to the protest. But it is the latest in a series of deaths this week that are connected to the nationwide Occupy wall Street protests.

In Burlington, Vermont, one half of the Occupy site was closed down on Thursday afternoon shortly after what is believed to be a self-inflicted death of a military veteran who joined the protests.

And in New Orleans a man was found dead in his tent on Tuesday, but authorities said his body showed no signs of trauma in an autopsy. The 53-year-old man apparently had been dead for two days before he was discovered.

The latest incident in Oakland has again highlighted tensions between protesters and the authorities. The shooting follows clashes between protesters and police, where an Iraq veteran was critically injured after being hit in the head with a tear gas canister.

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