Hillary Clinton Calls Alton Sterling's Death a "Tragedy" in Statement

The police killing of 37-year-old Alton Sterling has sparked outrage and pain, causing many to speak out. That includes Hillary Clinton, who released a statement calling Sterling’s death a "tragedy."

Sterling, a black man selling CDs, was killed by two white police officers outside of a Baton Rouge, La. convenience store Tuesday morning when police arrived on the scene responding to a call about a man allegedly pointing a gun at someone. The graphic shooting was caught on video.

Sterling died at the scene after receiving multiple gunshots to the chest and back. He's the 558th person to be killed by police in America this year.

Responding to Sterling's death, Clinton released a statement in which she called his death a "tragedy" and lamented an America where black lives don't matter, though not exactly in those words. In the statement, she lists solutions calling for the end of racial profiling and better training on de-escalation tactics.

"From Staten Island to Baltimore, Ferguson to Baton Rouge, too many African American families mourn the loss of a loved one from a police-involved incident," she said in a statement. "Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn’t consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin."

Clinton's mentions of Staten Island, Baltimore, and Ferguson, are references to Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and Michael Brown, respectively, black lives lost at the hands of police. Sterling's death has been most compared to Eric Garner, who was killed by police in July 2014 when they approached Garner suspecting he was selling loose cigarettes on a sidewalk.

Last November, Clinton met with the mothers of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and more.

Sterling may have been the 558th person to be killed by police in America, but he was more than just a number. He was a person with a life that still needed living.