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Amid protests, Ferguson police shoot man on anniversary of Michael Brown’s death

Eyewitnesses reported an extended flurry of shots.

 

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Posted on Aug 10, 2015   Updated on May 28, 2021, 4:58 am CDT

Exactly one year later, the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, bear an eerie resemblance to the chaos that followed the death of Michael Brown.

Sunday night, St. Louis County confirmed that an officer on its team shot an as-of-yet unidentified individual. The incident appears to have taken place behind the Ponderosa Steakhouse at 9200 W. Florissant Ave. around 11:15pm CT. 

 “The St. Louis County Police Department was involved in an officer-involved shooting after officers came under heavy gunfire,” county police spokesman Shawn McGuire said in a statement obtained by Yahoo News.

Eyewitnesses reported an extended flurry of shots,. Reports from Fox 2 KTVI indicated that the injured individual was taken into an ambulance alive. 

Moments after the shooting, livecaster Tony Rice (@Search4Swag) was detained by police for filming the crime scene, which graphically depicts the victim of the ground as two officers stand nearby. 

In the series of videos, the videographer can be heard pleading with nearby officers to “please get him some help.” 

The last video depicts a heated exchange as Rice is taken into police custody, seemingly for taking video of the scene from behind a fence. In the video, an officer warns “this is a crime scene—back up” while pushing him back from the scene of the shooting. 

Rice was detailed and removed from the scene, but released from custody shortly thereafter. Reports suggest that between 200 to 250 protesters remained in the streets around this time.

Protesters remained on the streets of Ferguson on the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death through a night of lightning and heavy rain. Early and evening marches described as “upbeat” by Daily Dot reporter Kate Conger descended into chaos and violence as the night wore on. 

Kate Conger

https://twitter.com/kateconger/status/630547949207089152

Local affiliate Fox 2 news reported that at least two local businesses including 911 Beauty Supply and Bowen’s Beauty Supply were broken into over the course of the evening. It remains unclear if the officer involved in the shooting is connected to two other shootings near West Florissant Ave. and Ferguson Ave. earlier in the evening.  

Officials will hold a press conference at 2:30am CT.

This story is ongoing.

Update 2:11am CT, Aug. 10: Footage from what is reportedly the moment the shooting occurred has surfaced. 

Additionally, reports of tear gas and tanks used as crowd control by local officials have hit the Web.

Update 2:52am CT, Aug. 10: St. Louis Police Chief Jon Belmar confirms multiple shootings, heavy gunfire, no body cams on the officials who shot the suspect, that the suspect was firing a stolen gun, that he remains in critical condition. 

Additionally, the officers who fired are now on administrative leave. Belmar also confirmed that the man who appeared in the Rice video was the suspect. 

https://twitter.com/Seth_Lemon/status/630644599032315904

https://twitter.com/Seth_Lemon/status/630643090118868992

Photo via St. Louis County PD/Twitter

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*First Published: Aug 10, 2015, 3:47 am CDT