This weekend protest and looting in Ferguson, St Louis, Missouri, left broken glass and at least one burned-out building.
Officer Brian Schellman of the St. Louis County police said two officers were injured overnight Sunday — one was hit by a brick and one suffered knee injuries. Police arrested 32 people for theft, assault or burglary.
The protests followed the fatal shooting on Saturday of Michael Brown, 18, by police. Authorities said Sunday that a police officer shot Brown, who was unarmed, after the teen attacked the Ferguson officer. After protests and a vigil earlier in the day, some people broke into stores and looted them, setting fire to a QuikTrip and leaving glass and other debris strewn about.
Schellman said the looting and destruction stopped and the area had quieted a down about 3:30 a.m. Monday.
He said the police helicopter was shot at once or twice, but was not hit. He said the night was a scary situation for even veteran officers.
Jennings school district canceled the first day of school today, saying it was concerned for student safety in the wake of Sunday night’s violence.
“Safety is our uppermost concern,” a Jennings release said. “At this time we do not feel it’s safe for our students to walk to school.”
Officials said they hoped classes could begin Tuesday.
On the lot of a QuikTrip that was looted and burned Sunday night, some men who said they had been there last night defended the damage as a response to injustice.
DeAndre Smith, 30, of Ferguson was happy to justify the looting when a reporter asked him about it Monday morning.
“This is exactly what is supposed to be happening when an injustice is happening in your community,” he said, adding: “You have kids getting killed for nothing.”
Smith, who moved to St. Louis from New York in December, said there could be more to come.
“I don’t think it’s over honestly,” he said. “I just think they got a taste of what fighting back means.”
Source: Post-Dispatch/AP