MINNEAPOLIS — A steady stream of mourners entered a north Minneapolis church on Wednesday to pay their respects to a man whose death in a confrontation with police sparked more than a week of protests. Meanwhile, charges were pending against three men suspected in a melee that left five protesters with gunshot wounds.

A picture of a smiling Jamar Clark adorned the program for his funeral at Shiloh Temple International Ministries. Inside, his obituary said the 24-year-old man “liked to swim, fish, listen to music, play basketball, be with family and take trips to Charlotte, North Carolina.”

Clark, who was black, died Nov. 15 in what police say was a scuffle with officers responding to an assault of a woman in which he was a suspect. Some community members who say they saw the incident allege Clark was handcuffed when he was shot, which police have disputed. A state criminal investigation and a federal civil rights probe are underway.

Protesters have rallied nightly outside the 4th Precinct police station near the scene of his death. On Tuesday, police arrested three white men — ages 26, 23 and 21 — on suspicion of shooting five Black Lives Matters protesters after some of them tried to get the men to leave the site late Monday night.

The shootings spurred a massive march Tuesday evening, with a racially mixed crowd marching more than 2 miles to City Hall and back. Hundreds of demonstrators milled quietly around portable fire pits to share coffee, pizza and doughnuts as music played.

But the shootings have prompted safety concerns. Clark’s family has asked for protesters to end the 4th Precinct encampment, out of concern for their safety, and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison said it would be wise to “start thinking about an exit strategy” and what to do next.

Steven Belton, interim president of the Minneapolis Urban League, echoed those sentiments on Wednesday, saying protesters had achieved most of what they wanted, including the federal investigation and the names of the officers involved.

Belton said the vigil should end to “restore order” to the community, which he said has endured open gunfire, traffic and service interruptions, smoke from the protesters’ fires and hours of helicopter noise.

That likely won’t happen, said Jayme Ali, a pastor at God of All Truth Church.

In brief remarks outside the church where Clark’s was being held, as mourners streamed past, she said another rally was planned for Wednesday afternoon. Protesters have demanded investigators release video of the Clark shooting, and Ali noted it took more than a year before the city of Chicago on Tuesday released video of the fatal police shooting of a black teenager.

“We are not going nowhere. We are there until we get justice for Jamar Clark,” she said. “Fourth Precinct, start taking donations for a new building, because we are not going anywhere.”

Police haven’t given a suspected motive for the shootings of the protesters. But they followed several racially disparaging comments about the protests that had been posted on social media in recent days. One video showed a white man brandishing a gun while claiming to be on his way to the protests. Police had issued a warning Friday night, asking demonstrators to be vigilant and report any suspicious behavior to authorities.

Group raised suspicions before 5 were shot at police protest

MINNEAPOLIS — Protesters demanding justice for a black man fatally shot by Minneapolis police were settling in for their ninth night of demonstrations when something just didn’t seem right.

Lingering in the crowd were four people who seemed out of place. They were asked to leave. Moments later, shots rang out about a block away.

“I really did think it was like firecrackers or something initially because it was so loud and there was like this acrid smell,” protester Jie Wronski-Riley said. “I thought, ‘Surely, they are not shooting at us.’”

Then Wronski-Riley heard the cries of wounded people on the ground. “I really understood the danger we were in and what had happened.”

Police say five people were shot in the attack, which unfolded late Monday near a police precinct where dozens of protesters have been camped out since the Nov. 15 fatal shooting of Jamar Clark. None suffered life-threatening wounds.

Authorities arrested a 23-year-old white man, who remained in custody Tuesday evening, and a 32-year-old Hispanic man, who was later released. Two more men — both white, ages 26 and 21 — turned themselves in Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, Clark was shot after he struggled with officers. But some people who said they saw the shooting said the 24-year-old was handcuffed.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said it will be up to a grand jury to decide whether to bring charges against officers in Clark’s death.

Freeman issued a statement Tuesday after repeated requests by black activist groups to make the decision himself rather than go to a grand jury. Protesters have complained that grand juries are unlikely to indict police officers.

After marching from the Fourth Precinct police station in north Minneapolis, the site of constant protests since Clark was shot, to Minneapolis City Hall downtown, several hundred people gathered outside the station Tuesday night for a concert. The diverse crowd, which included a number of children, listened to hip-hop music and soul classics such as “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

“We ain’t scared. We can’t back down. We ain’t turning around, but we’re here fighting for justice,” Minneapolis NAACP President Nekima Levy-Pounds told the crowd.

Around 200 people remained at the scene late Tuesday night, talking, stacking up firewood, and eating pizza and doughnuts. Police officers watched the crowd from inside the station.

At least one member of Clark’s family asked Tuesday for the protests to end. But demonstrators said they would not be intimidated or “bow to fear.”

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but several racially disparaging comments had been posted on social media in recent days. One video showed a white man brandishing a gun while claiming to be on his way to the protests. Police issued a warning Friday night, asking demonstrators to be vigilant and report any suspicious behavior to authorities.

The protesters had a safety plan, and security team members had been asking people who looked like troublemakers to leave.