Rioting flares after shooting of teen
Ferguson, Missouri – Rioting broke out for a second night in Ferguson, Missouri, despite calls for calm from the mother of a black teenager who was shot to death by police during the weekend.
Police clad in riot gear released tear gas to disperse a crowd estimated in the hundreds gathered near a building that burned during Monday night’s rioting, Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson said.
Jackson said officers were focused on dispersing the crowd, which was much smaller than the night before, but were making arrests and reported being fired on at some locations.
‘‘They are shooting at us now,’’ Jackson said, adding that officers from 10 to 15 jurisdictions were helping Ferguson.
Michael Brown, 18, was shot to death in the mostly black St Louis suburb of Ferguson on Sunday afternoon after what police said was a struggle with a gun in a police car.
The FBI have started an inquiry into the racially-charged case.
A witness told local media that Brown had raised his arms to police to show he was unarmed before being killed.
‘‘He just graduated and was on his way to college,’’ said Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, speaking through tears.
Her eldest son’s first day back at school would have been on Monday. ‘‘We can’t even celebrate,’’ she said.
Brown’s family has hired Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who rep- resented the family of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who was shot to death by a community watch volunteer in Florida in 2012.
It was not immediately clear from police why Brown was in the police car. At least one shot was fired during the struggle, then the officer fired more shots before leaving the car, police said.
The officer, who was not identified, is a six-year veteran and has been put on administrative leave, police said. The officer’s race has not been disclosed.
Dorian Johnson told television station KMOV that he and Brown had been walking when an officer confronted them, drew a weapon and shot.
Johnson said that Brown put his hands in the air and started to get down, but the officer kept shooting.
Jackson said there was plenty of physical evidence and witness testimony. ‘‘I really believe we can get to the truth of what happened here,’’ he said.
Demonstrations to call for justice for Brown turned violent on Monday night, with crowds breaking the windows of cars and stores, setting a building on fire and looting shops. At least two dozen businesses were damaged, 32 people were arrested, and two police officers were injured.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the town’s police station yesterday to demand murder charges against the officer responsible for the shooting. Police arrested up to 15 people during the mostly peaceful demonstration.