Violence, including a police-involved shooting, erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, on Sunday night, following peaceful protests marking the anniversary of the death of Michael Brown.
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Meanwhile, prosecutors filed 10 counts against Tyrone Harris on Monday afternoon, the 18-year-old black suspect who was critically wounded after being shot by police Sunday night in Ferguson.
Pursuant to my executive order, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar shall immediately take over the operation of police emergency management in the City of Ferguson and surrounding areas.
The chief, speaking at an overnight news conference, did not identify the man or the officers involved in the shooting.
But the father of the suspect, 18-year-old Tyrone Harris Jr., called the police version of events “a bunch of lies”.
The suspect who fired on officers had a semi-automatic 9 mm gun that was stolen last year from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, according to the chief.
On Twitter, St. Louis police shared photos of at least two unmarked police cars that came under fire during the protests.
St. Louis County police say two young males have been injured in what appears to have been a drive-by shooting near a monument to Michael Brown, who was shot to death a year ago.
The scene changed dramatically after dark with dozens of protesters blocking traffic and smashing store windows along West Florissant Avenue, which bore the brunt of last summer’s rioting, chanting “Shut it down” in the midst of a severe thunderstorm.
Police say the protesters were apprehended for obstructing the normal use of the entrances to the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse.
The protesters, locking arms and edging closer to the police cordon, began throwing water bottles and shouting, “We are ready for war!” Helicopters whirred overhead as additional police armed with assault rifles swarmed the area, some roaring down the street in armored vehicles in the direction of the gunfire. Police made an unknown number of arrests, and at one point early Monday shot smoke to disperse the crowd that lingered on West Florissant, he said, discounting reports that tear gas had been used. One officer was struck in the face by a brick.
Belmar said early Monday that police estimated more than 40 rounds had been fired. They were both hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
In November 2014, a predominantly white grand jury – of nine white and three black judges – decided not to indict Wilson for killing Brown, causing months of more unrest across the country.
Brown, 18, was unarmed when Darren Wilson pulled up in a cruiser and told Brown and a friend not to walk in the street.
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Later, a few hundred people turned out at Greater St. Mark Family Church for a service to remember Brown, with his father joining other relatives sitting behind the pulpit.
