(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Protests broke out and US police responded with teargas after an 18-year-old black man was shot dead in a confrontation with white officers in St Louis, Missouri, officials said on Wednesday.
The city is close to the trouble spot of Ferguson, where a police killing of an unarmed black man last year prompted angry protests and renewed discussion of race and policing in the United States.
Police said Wednesday's deadly shooting took place when the suspect pointed a gun at officers.
Shortly afterwards, protesters began gathering at the site.
St Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said the protesters threw bottles and bricks at police and refused to move from an intersection.
"A group of protesters came together and started to do acts of violence directed not only towards law enforcement but towards the neighborhood," Dotson said in recorded remarks released by the police department.
After other attempts to clear the area failed, Dotson said police used teargas to reopen the intersection.
"Peace was restored after a total of nine arrests," he said.
Early yesterday the police authorities released edited video of the protest which appeared to show demonstrators throwing rocks and water bottles at a phalanx of police who hid behind riot shields.
Officers could be seen patrolling the streets late on Wednesday as an abandoned building near the protests went up in flames, images on Twitter showed.
Overnight, police received reports of burglaries and a car being set alight in the area.
Dotson said police had discovered three stolen guns during investigations after the shooting.
Police tweeted early yesterday morning that the suspect's gun was reported stolen and had an extended magazine.
The St Louis Post-Dispatch said that the 18-year-old had pointed a gun at two officers who were serving a search warrant.
They then opened fire, killing him.
Sometimes violent protests began again in Ferguson this month after peaceful demonstrations marking the first anniversary of the shooting that killed another 18-year-old, Michael Brown, escalated into violence and looting.
The officer who killed Brown was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Tensions around St Louis between the black community and the police have remained high since Brown's shooting.
A scathing Justice Department report found Ferguson's city hall, police department and municipal court unfairly targeted the city's African-American majority as a means to generate revenue.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.