Charlotte declares state of emergency after second night of unrest

North Carolina's governor declared a state of emergency in the city of Charlotte amid disturbances over a police shooting.

He also said that he had sent the National Guard and state Highway Patrol troopers to help police in Charlotte restore and maintain order.

Violence erupted for a second night as protests in the North Carolina city of Charlotte continued after police fatally shot 43-year-old Keith Scott on Tuesday. According to police, he was armed with a handgun and refused officers' orders to drop the weapon. His family and a witness to the shooting said Scott was holding a book, not a firearm.

The latest trouble began with a peaceful rally that turned violent after several hundred chanting demonstrators marched through downtown with brief stops at a black church, police headquarters and a large entertainment venue called the EpiCentre.

As they approached downtown Charlotte's central intersection, protesters confronted a column of patrol cars and officers in front of the Omni Charlotte Hotel and began to surround groups of police and their vehicles.

Police then unleashed volleys of rubber bullets, pepper spray, tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse the protesters, who began hurling fireworks and debris at officers outside the hotel.

Charlotte Police Chief Kerr Putney initially reported that a person shot during the protest had died, but city officials later posted a Twitter message saying the individual had been hospitalised in critical condition on life support.