On Friday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy issued a statement via Twitter concerning the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

"George Floyd should still be alive today. We can honor his memory by healing our broken communities. By mending racial divides. And by rebuilding America into a more perfect union that we know it should be. Ripping a city—and a country—apart only deepens the wound."

George Floyd should still be alive today. We can honor his memory by healing our broken communities. By mending racial divides. And by rebuilding America into a more perfect union that we know it should be.

Ripping a city—and a country—apart only deepens the wound.

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) May 29, 2020

Floyd was arrested Monday after a Minneapolis grocery store employee called the police to report someone trying to pass a counterfeit bill. A 10-minute video of Floyd’s arrest soon circulated online.

In the video shot by a bystander, an officer identified as Chauvin is seen pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck while the man gasps for air with his face against the pavement. Floyd then lost consciousness and was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Protests have popped up across the United States since Floyd’s death, with people calling for justice for the 36-year-old man.

For the past three nights, protesters have grown increasingly violent. And on Thursday, demonstrators torched one of the Minneapolis police stations that the department had abandoned.

The Minneapolis police officer seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck before his death was taken into custody Friday morning, the Star Tribune and WCCO report.