A police officer who shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Sunday afternoon did so by mistake, authorities said during a Monday afternoon press briefing.

The shooting set off a night of roiling protests and reignited tensions between police and a community still enflamed by the death of George Floyd.

According to Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon, the officer accidentally discharged her service weapon, thinking it was her stun gun, during the encounter with Wright, a Black man. Gannon said he believes the officer grabbed the wrong weapon.

“As I watched the video and listened to the officers’ commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet,” he said. “This appears to me, from what I viewed and the officer’s reaction and distress immediately afterward, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright.”

Gannon said Brooklyn Center police are trained to carry their handguns on their dominant-hand side and holster their taser guns on the side of their off hand. He’s asked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate the shooting, which touched off a night of protests and rioting in the Twin Cities suburb that borders Minneapolis.

Wright’s shooting comes less than a year after Floyd was killed during an encounter with four Minneapolis police officers. The area is still reeling from that tragedy as Derek Chauvin, the officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nearly 10 minutes, is in the midst of his murder trial for Floyd’s death.

“We recognize that this couldn’t have happened at a worst time,” Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliot said during Monday’s press conference. “We recognize that this is happening at a time when our community, when all of America and indeed all of the world is watching. That we are all collectively devastated, and we have been for over a year now by the killing of George Floyd. And that we continue to be distressed as we go through the Derrick Chauvin trial.”

The mayor later said he supported the officer’s termination.

“My position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession,” Elliot said. “And so I do fully support releasing the officer of her duties.”

When asked directly if that meant he felt she should be fired, Elliot responded “I do.”

Wright was shot during a traffic stop in the 6300 block of Orchard Avenue just before 2 p.m. Sunday, according to KARE 11. Police pulled him over because he had an air freshener dangling from his rearview mirror, his mother says. It turned out Wright had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant, and as officers attempted to take him into custody, Wright jumped back into his car. That’s when a female officer fired a single fatal gunshot.

Wright drove a few blocks before colliding with another vehicle, the Brooklyn Center Police Department indicated in a statement Sunday.

Gannon released a 54-second clip from the officer’s bodycam footage, which showed the deadly encounter.

The video showed Wright with three officers during the traffic stop. One of the male officers had Wright step out of his car. A struggle ensued as he was being handcuffed, and the female officer moved in to assist as Wright jumped back into his driver’s seat.

“I’ll tase ya,” the female policewoman is heard saying repeatedly as she draws her gun.

She then yelled, “Taser, taser, taser,” before firing a single bullet at Wright through the open car door. She immediately reacted as if it was a mistake.

“Aww s–t, I just shot him,” the officer said as Wright drove away.

Gannon and Elliot fielded questions from reporters and community advocates during the news conference. Gannon was pressed to release the name of the female police officer who shot Wright. But he would only reveal that she is a “very senior officer,” and indicated that the state BCA was expected to release the policewoman’s name, employment history and training data later in the day.

The officer is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the BCA investigation. Gannon refuted claims on social media that she has committed suicide.

The chief balked at saying she should be fired for her fatal mistake, and initially left the press conference after being asked if she should. He later returned at the mayor’s behest and told reporters the officer deserved due process before any decisions on her job are made.

“She has the right to be heard, she has the right to give her statement, she has right to tell what she felt what she thought,” he said. “Not what I thought, not what I saw, but what she thought and what she did. And that may have an impact. She’s on administrative time. She will not be returning to duty until this investigation’s run its course. … I think we can look at the video and ascertain whether or not she’ll be returning.”