Riot erupts following shooting death of
unarmed black teen in Missouri
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[August 11, 2014]
By Victoria Cavaliere
(Reuters) - Rioting and looting erupted in
Ferguson, Missouri, late on Sunday as protests over the killing of a
black teenager by a police officer turned violent, law enforcement
officials and media reports said.
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Crowds broke the windows of cars and stores following a day of
demonstrations over the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed
18-year-old shot dead on Saturday by a Ferguson police officer.
"We are currently experiencing a riot," a Ferguson police dispatcher
said.
About 150 officers in riot gear from throughout St. Louis County,
along with canine units, were sent to the area, a dispatcher for the
St. Louis County Police Department said.
There was no immediate word on injuries.
Police said Brown was shot after a struggle over a gun in a police
car. It was not immediately clear why Brown as 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.
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"It is our understanding at this point in the investigation, that
within the police car, there was a struggle over the officer's
weapon," Belmar said.
Protests erupted soon after the shooting in Ferguson, a town of
about 23,000 people some 20 miles (32 km) north of St. Louis. Some
demonstrators shouted "kill the police".
Sunday's protests turned violent after dark, according to news
station KMOV-TV, with rioters smashing the window of a store and
damaging cars. The crowd broke the windows of a news truck, the
station said.
A teenage girl told KMOV that a QuikTrip convenience store was being
looted. Asked what looters were taking, she said, "Everything. They
destroyed everything."
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Brown's mother told local TV broadcaster KSDK that her son was a
"good child getting ready to go to college" and that he was visiting
his grandmother when the incident took place.
"He didn't bother nobody," she said. "They told me how many times my
son was shot - eight," she added.
The St. Louis County branch of the civil rights group NAACP has said
it wants the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into the
case, with many in the community telling media that race played a
factor in the shooting.
The police did not give any details about the officer's race.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Additional reporting by Kervin Murphy
in Kansas City, Ian Simpson in Washington, Chris Michaud in New York
and Victoria Cavaliere in Seattle)
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