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Police shot a person in Ferguson, Missouri, on Sunday night after coming under fire near a demonstration marking the anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by an officer last year.



Shawn McGwire of St Louis County Police said in an email an officer from the department shot a person “after officers came under heavy gunfire”. The condition of the person shot was not confirmed. Minutes after the shots were heard, an Associated Press photographer saw a man lying face down, covered in blood, behind a boarded-up restaurant. It wasn’t immediately clear how badly the man was injured.

Police officials said two unmarked police cars came under fire during the gunfight. They posted images of cars with bullet holes in their windows to Twitter.

A young black man was seen lying wounded and handcuffed on the ground beside two officers after chaotic scenes on West Florissant Avenue, where dozens had gathered to protest the death last year of Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old. It was not immediately clear if he was the person struck by police.

Several bursts of gunfire rang out at about 11.15pm about a block north of where protesters were squaring off with officers clad in riot gear for the first time during the largely peaceful anniversary weekend. Police, reporters and protesters gathered behind vehicles while others scattered.


A few lootings were reported through the night and windows to some store fronts were smashed. Paul Hampel, a reporter for the St Louis Post-Dispatch, was assaulted and robbed by looters minutes after reporting on their actions on Twitter.

More details to come ...

Prosecutors in Ferguson, Missouri, have charged a man with assaulting officers during events marking the first anniversary of the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.

They named the suspect as Tyrone Harris, 18, who was critically wounded in a gun battle with police on Sunday.

The authorities have declared a state of emergency in the city.

Once again in Ferguson there is discussion about whether a violent incident has detracted from the message of the hundreds who took to the streets peacefully; a message that they still feel policing here and across America is racist.
Many in Ferguson have said that they feel there is a better way than confrontation to convey the hurt and frustration felt by the community.
But even in speeches during the day, others expressed frustration that protesters were being told to be peaceful, when so many young black men had faced violent deaths in encounters with the police.
We are often reminded here that it is the confrontation and images of violence a year ago that made the country sit up and take notice, and it is what brought the subsequent media attention to the issue that persisted throughout the months. But to what end?

On Sunday, hundreds of people stood silent for four-and-a-half minutes at the spot where Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, representing the number of hours that his body lay in the street unattended.

But the day of peaceful and sombre commemorations turned violent late at night when, according to police, a gunfight erupted between two rival groups on West Florissant Avenue.

Police say Mr Harris was armed and opened fired, but his father has described their account of events as "a bunch of lies".

Prosecutors filed 10 charges against him, including assaulting an officer.

Police said he was among six people who fired at an unmarked SUV with plainclothes detectives inside, who then fired back.