On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot dead at close range by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The officers were attempting to control Sterling's arms, and Sterling was shot by them while allegedly reaching for the loaded handgun in his pants pocket.

As Sterling's right hand remained free, Salamoni exclaimed, "He's going into his pockets! He's got a gun! Gun!" Lake, pointing his gun, yelled, "Hey bro, if you fucking move, I swear to God!" Then Salamoni was heard on the video saying, "Lake, he's going for the gun!" The camera caught Salamoni firing three shots, panning away while three more shots were fired before panning back to show Sterling's body sprawled out. Lake was not in the picture and Salamoni was about 3 feet (0.9 m) away, with his gun drawn and pointed at Sterling, who had a gunshot wound in his chest. Sterling was shot a total of six times all within close range.