Rioting erupts after black teen dies in Missouri
12 Aug 2014 12:41 AM GMT
Crowds broke the windows of cars and stores, set a building alight and looted shops following a day of demonstrations over the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old shot on Saturday by a Ferguson police officer.
There is ‘a lot of unrest up there, and a lot of rioting going on, and looting,’ Officer Brian Schellman, a spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department, said early on Monday.
He said the unrest had spread from Ferguson, a largely black St Louis suburb, to adjacent communities. About 150 officers in riot gear from throughout St. Louis County had been sent to the area.
Schellman said arrests had been made but had no details. He and three hospitals had no reports of injuries.
Police said Brown was shot after a struggle over a gun in a police car. It was not immediately clear why Brown was in the car. At least one shot was fired during the struggle, and then the office fired more shots before leaving the car.
The officer, who was not identified, is a six-year veteran and has been put on administrative leave, St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told a news conference. The officer’s race has not been disclosed.
Sunday’s protests turned violent after dark, according to news station KMOV-TV, with rioters smashing windows of stores and restaurants and damaging cars.
KMOV TV footage showed a QuikTrip convenience store set on fire after it was looted. A teenage witness told KMOV, ‘They destroyed everything.’ Mobs rushed out of other stores, including an AutoZone and a Ross Dress for Less, with armfuls of stolen goods, KMOV and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper reported.
There is ‘a lot of unrest up there, and a lot of rioting going on, and looting,’ Officer Brian Schellman, a spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department, said early on Monday.
He said the unrest had spread from Ferguson, a largely black St Louis suburb, to adjacent communities. About 150 officers in riot gear from throughout St. Louis County had been sent to the area.
Schellman said arrests had been made but had no details. He and three hospitals had no reports of injuries.
Police said Brown was shot after a struggle over a gun in a police car. It was not immediately clear why Brown was in the car. At least one shot was fired during the struggle, and then the office fired more shots before leaving the car.
The officer, who was not identified, is a six-year veteran and has been put on administrative leave, St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told a news conference. The officer’s race has not been disclosed.
Sunday’s protests turned violent after dark, according to news station KMOV-TV, with rioters smashing windows of stores and restaurants and damaging cars.
KMOV TV footage showed a QuikTrip convenience store set on fire after it was looted. A teenage witness told KMOV, ‘They destroyed everything.’ Mobs rushed out of other stores, including an AutoZone and a Ross Dress for Less, with armfuls of stolen goods, KMOV and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper reported.
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