WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says there's "no excuse" for burning buildings, torching cars and destroying property in response to the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri.

Obama says such "destructive" actions are criminal and those who are responsible should be prosecuted.

The president is speaking in Chicago a day after a Missouri grand jury declined to indict a police officer in 18-year-old Michael Brown's death.

Obama says he understands that many people are upset by that decision. He says their frustration is rooted in a sense that laws are not always being enforced "uniformly and fairly" in communities of color.