Philando Castile was a 32-year-old African American man who was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota on July 6, 2016. The incident occurred after Castile informed the officer that he was carrying a licensed firearm. The shooting was recorded on video by his girlfriend, which later went viral and sparked widespread protests. The officer involved, Jeronimo Yanez, was charged with second-degree manslaughter but was acquitted in June 2017. Castile's death became a significant event in the Black Lives Matter movement, highlighting issues of police violence and racial profiling in the United States.