Police Teargas Crowds Protesting Killing of Missouri Teenager
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Violence broke out again as authorities dressed in riot gear in a St. Louis, Missouri suburb – where an unarmed black teen was fatally shot by police over the weekend – have used tear gas and rubber bullets to try to disperse a large crowd.
Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson told the AP that a group gathered throughout Monday at a burned-out convenience store, then turned rowdy at nightfall. Along with tear gas, observers tweeted that police fired rubber bullets into the crowd.
Police were telling people to go home, but had blocked streets off in the area, an AP photographer said. Jackson said police closed the area where most of the looting and vandalism occurred during the previous night, out of concern that cars passing by might hit demonstrators in the street.
The St. Louis suburb has been marred by unrest for three days, moving from protests and vigils during the day to rioting and looting at night. The tumult is over the death of Michael Brown, a black teenager who was killed on Saturday following an altercation with a Ferguson police officer.
Brown had his hands raised when the police officer approached with his weapon drawn and fired repeatedly, according to two individuals who said they witnessed the shooting that triggered two nights of violence in suburban St. Louis.
The 18-year-old was to begin his first day of college on Monday.
RT's Anastasia Churkina was at the scene of the protests.
"We witnessed tear gas being fired at just a couple dozen people...who live in this neighborhood. The police had issued several warnings that they would fire tear gas and they in fact proceeded to do this," Churkina reported.
"We do not expect these tensions to die down because the local we've spoken to most certainly intend to continue coming out to protest."
According to Churkina, many of the details (of the shooting of Michael Brown) remain a mystery, including the identity of the police officer who remains on paid leave. "This is something the local community wants to change. They want to see accountability...over police brutality."