Police used tear gas and fired “beanbag rounds” late Monday to disperse a restless crowd in the St. Louis suburb where unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer over the weekend. In a second night of violence, streets were closed off around a gas station store in Ferguson, Missouri, that had been burned on Sunday. Police told crowds and reporters to leave the area. A shoe store was looted, according to NBC station KSDK. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson told The Associated Press that officers responded after gunfire came from the crowd.
Fifteen arrests were made. St. Louis city alderman Antonio French posted a series of videos and pictures on Twitter documenting the police response. Young people were seen holding their hands up in the same manner that some witnesses have suggested Brown was at the time of the shooting. Police said Brown, 18, was shot after a physical confrontation with an officer. Brown’s family disputes that account and their attorney Monday said the teen was “executed in broad daylight.” The FBI has opened an investigation.
IN-DEPTH
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