Night of Unrest Over Police Killing of St. Louis Teenager

A vigil on Sunday for an unarmed black teenager shot and killed by a police officer in a St. Louis suburb was followed by angry demonstrations overnight after protesters took to the streets, looting stores, vandalizing cars and confronting the police.Hundreds of people gathered at the evening vigil in Ferguson, Mo., to light candles for the teenager, Michael Brown, 18, who had been planning to begin college classes on Monday. Later, a crowd of protesters flooded the streets near the scene of the shooting, some of them chanting “No justice, no peace.” They were met by hundreds of police officers in riot gear, carrying rifles and shields, as well as by K-9 units.Still images and videos captured on cellphones and posted on social media sites, as well as local news media reports, appeared to show people spray-painting and looting a number of stores. In one television report, people could be seen running away from a store with their arms full of shoes. A convenience store could be seen burning in a videoposted by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.Protesters also shattered windows and damaged several police cars, said Brian Lewis, a spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department. The police set up roadblocks in some areas. Pat Washington, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis County executive, Charlie Dooley, told The Associated Press that the police had used tear gas in one instance to control the crowd.

Mr. Brown’s family urged the protesters to go home, saying that the looting and vandalism were not what the teenager would have wanted. “The only thing the family wants is justice,” a spokesman, Doug Hollis, told a local television station.By Monday morning, more than 200 officers had been involved in restoring control, Brian Shellman, an officer with the St. Louis County police, told the local news media, though there remained reports of scattered incidents. Officer Shellman said he did not know how many arrests had been made.In Washington, a Justice Department spokeswoman, Dena Iverson, said on Monday that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. had instructed lawyers in the Civil Rights Division to monitor developments in Ferguson.The shooting of Mr. Brown by a Ferguson police officer on Saturday came after a struggle for the officer’s gun, police officials said, an explanation that met with outrage and skepticism in the largely African-American community.

Mr. Brown’s stepfather, Louis Head, held a cardboard sign at the vigil that read, “Ferguson police just executed my unarmed son.”At a news conference on Sunday morning, the St. Louis County police chief, Jon Belmar, said that a man had been shot and killed after he had assaulted a police officer and the two had struggled over the officer’s gun inside his patrol car. At least one shot was fired from inside the car, Chief Belmar said.“The genesis of this was a physical confrontation,” Chief Belmar told reporters.Elected officials and advocacy groups called for a full investigation and questioned the tactics of the police, who acknowledged that Mr. Brown had been unarmed. Antonio French, a councilman in St. Louis, was at the scene of the protests on Sunday and said in an interview that more than 100 people had gathered, most of them silently standing in groups, some leaving behind teddy bears and balloons to memorialize Mr. Brown.Mr. French said he was unsatisfied with the Police Department’s explanation of the shooting.“I find it hard to believe,” he said, adding that he was disappointed with the police response after the shooting, which he said had further distressed Ferguson residents and members of Mr. Brown’s family.“It’s a textbook example of how not to handle the situation,” Mr. French said. “Ferguson has a white government and a white mayor, but a large black population. This situation has brought out whatever rifts were between that minority community and the Ferguson government.”

Esther Haywood, the president of theN.A.A.C.P. in St. Louis County, said in a statement: “We are hurt to hear that yet another teenaged boy has been slaughtered by law enforcement, especially in light of therecent death of Eric Garner in New York, who was killed for selling cigarettes. We plan to do everything within our power to ensure that the Ferguson Police Department as well as the St. Louis County Police Department releases all details pertinent to the shooting. We strongly encourage residents to stay away from the crime scene so that no additional citizens are injured.”The police said on Sunday that they were still trying to sort out the exact details of the events, but they released what they said was the fullest account of the shooting that they could provide. Just after noon on Saturday, an officer in a patrol car approached Mr. Brown and another man, the police said. As the officer began to leave his vehicle, one of the men pushed the officer back into the car and “physically assaulted” him, according to the police account.There was a struggle “over the officer’s weapon,” and at least one shot was fired inside the car, Chief Belmar said. The two left the car, and the officer shot Mr. Brown about 35 feet from the vehicle, the police reported. Several shots were fired from the officer’s weapon.The medical examiner for St. Louis County is trying to determine how many times Mr. Brown was shot, the police said.

Chief Belmar said that the Ferguson police chief, Thomas Jackson, had called to ask that his department look into the shooting because Chief Jackson wanted an independent investigation. The St. Louis County prosecuting attorney will determine whether the shooting was justified or charges should be filed, Chief Belmar said.The police have said that the officer who shot Mr. Brown had been on the force for about six years and was to be interviewed extensively by detectives on Sunday. They did not identify the officer by name or rank.“Any other details, including the reason as to why the encounter occurred and the initial struggle ensued, are still a part of the continuing investigation,” the police said in a statement.Mr. Brown’s family said that he had been walking to his grandmother’s house when the shooting occurred and that his body had remained in the street for some time, guarded by the police, while neighbors gathered in the area.Mr. Brown had just graduated from high school and was planning to attend Vatterott College, his mother, Lesley McSpadden, told reporters. His family has retained Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who representedTrayvon Martin’s relatives.“You took my son away from me,” Ms. McSpadden told the television news station KMOV. “Do you know how hard it was for me to get him to stay in school and graduate? You know how many black men graduate? Not many. Because you bring them down to this type of level, where they feel like they don’t got nothing to live for anyway. ‘They’re going to try to take me out anyway.’ ”