Drake Responds to Alton Sterling Shooting in Heartfelt Instagram Post

Following the shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling by Baton Rouge, La. police officers on Tuesday morning, Drake posted about the incident on his Instagram account, saying that he felt “disheartened, emotional and truly scared.”

“It’s impossible to ignore that the relationship between black and brown communities and law enforcement remains as strained as it was decades ago,” the rapper wrote. “No one begins their life as a hashtag. Yet the trend of being reduced to one continues.”

In the post (included below), Drake also called for more dialogue on police brutality: “Things can change for the better. Open and honest dialogue is the first step.”

Video footage of the shootings also appeared through social media and many have spoken out about Sterling’s death through the trending #AltonSterling Twitter hashtag.

A day after Sterling’s death, Philando Castile was also killed by police in Saint Paul, Minn.

Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake and many other celebrities have also responded to the shootings via social media.

Find Drake’s Instagram post below.