Close to 3,000 people demonstrated in Thessaloniki, Greece on Tuesday, protesting the death of Kostas Frangoulis, 16, a Roma youth shot by a police officer after allegedly fleeing a gas station without paying on December 5. 

Violent protests have been reported in Athens and Thessaloniki, despite calls from the Roma community leaders and Frangoulis’ relatives for calm and peaceful protesting after the death was announced Tuesday.

The Roma community has denounced the shooting as having racist motives. Several Roma men have been injured or fatally shot in Greece in recent years during confrontations with police.

Members of the Roma community in Greece have long faced discrimination, and many live on the margins of society.

The officer was charged with a felony count of attempted manslaughter with possible intent and a misdemeanor count of illegally firing his weapon. Charges could be upgraded following the announcement of Frangoulis' death. 

The officer has been under house arrest since Friday.

In an initial court appearance last week, the accused officer said that he fired his weapon to stop the pickup truck because he feared for the lives of his colleagues, but that he had aimed at the tires, not the driver.