Protestors and police in the St. Louis neighborhood of Shaw clashed Thursday, marking the second night of unrest following the fatal shooting of a black teenager Vonderrit Myers Jr. by a white police officer.
The demonstrations come just hours before a weekend of resistance — rallies and protests headed by youth organizers to combat police brutality and racial bias — sparked by the death of another black teenager, Michael Brown Jr.
As many as 400 protestors marched the streets in south St. Louis, calling for justice and confronting rows of police decked out in riot gear.
Look. At. The. Police. pic.twitter.com/DqrSmJrpAs
— deray mckesson (@deray) October 10, 2014
Police now form a tighter line. https://t.co/wFC8P76m9P
— deray mckesson (@deray) October 10, 2014
#shawshooting Standoff at Grand and Arsenal. Cops in riot gear. pic.twitter.com/u1T8wI9Cfa — Paul Hampel (@phampel) October 10, 2014
The peaceful protests soon turned chaotic. Police demanded the groups disperse, threatening to arrest any one who stayed to demonstrate.
Police push protestors to sidewalk. https://t.co/8P8VDRo7RG — deray mckesson (@deray) October 10, 2014
Watch THIS NOW. https://t.co/nshAfiBVjX
— deray mckesson (@deray) October 10, 2014
Police then resorted to pepper-spraying the crowd. Many activists and residents took to social media to show the brutal and painful effects of the use of force.
Peppersprayed #shawshooting https://t.co/lUzQQDPQJ1
— Cassandra (@CassandraRules) October 10, 2014
Girl just maced. https://t.co/PhyUomYC9u
— deray mckesson (@deray) October 10, 2014
St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson told Fox 2 reporters that several businesses and a police car had been damaged. He also said someone threw a knife in the line of police that struck the vest of an officer.
RT @KMOVMatt Knife that was thrown at police officer at Grand and Arsenal. #kmov pic.twitter.com/IqRqJtBDU3
— KMOV (@KMOV) October 10, 2014
Rough night for this business on S. Grand in S #STL. Protestors busted windows at Medicine Shoppe @kmov #n4tm pic.twitter.com/vAdbSI1vaZ
— Laura Hettiger KMOV (@LauraKHettiger) October 10, 2014
Two people were arrested as of midnight, Dotson said.
The clashes haven’t deterred social justice groups, who, along with 6,000 others who have signed up, plan to march in the weekend of planned protests and rallies.
For more information, visit FergusonOctober.com