Vigil for St. Louis Teen Shot by Cops Turns Violent

Accounts of Michael Brown's shooting conflict
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 11, 2014 12:59 AM CDT
Updated Aug 11, 2014 7:14 AM CDT
Vigil for Shot Missouri Teen Turns Violent
Protesters bang on the side of a police car Sunday evening in Ferguson, Mo.   (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, J.B. Forbes)

Vigils and protests for a black teenager shot dead in the street by police in St. Louis County turned violent last night, with reports of looting, fires, and gunshots amid confrontations with police. Witnesses saw multiple stores being looted and police cars being vandalized, the AP reports. Earlier, thousands of people had joined a candlelight vigil for 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was shot and killed Saturday afternoon in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. "Contributing to the unrest that is going on is not going to help," Ferguson's mayor tells KTVI. "We're only hurting ourselves, only hurting our community, hurting our neighbors. There's nothing productive from this."

Police and witnesses give very different accounts of Brown's shooting, reports CNN. The county police chief says Brown was shot after pushing an officer back inside his vehicle, assaulting him, and struggling with the officer for his weapon. He says one shot was fired inside the police vehicle and the officer fired multiple times as Brown ran away. Witnesses, however, say Brown had his hands in the air when he was shot. More protests are planned for today, and the Justice Department has asked civil rights lawyers to monitor the case, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. (More St. Louis stories.)

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