Looting, Vandalism After Vigil for Missouri Man Killed by Cop
Michael Brown, 18, wasn't armed when he was shot.
— -- Protests broke out overnight on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, with vehicles and businesses damaged and looting reported, following the police shooting of Michael Brown, 18.
People could be seen carrying hubcaps out of an auto supply store. A shoe store also was looted, with police swarming into the store's parking lot. A QuikTrip convenience store was overrun, with people grabbing items and running out of the store, glass shattered and items strewn about the sidewalk.
A fire later broke out, destroying the QuikTrip store.
Other witnesses reported seeing people vandalize police cars and kick in windows in the St. Louis suburb.
Police in riot gear stood on the street, trying to keep the situation under control. Police dogs were also brought to the area.
The protests followed a candlelight vigil for Brown, who wasn’t armed when he was shot Saturday. At the vigil, people placed candles, flowers and a teddy bear at the exact location where Brown was killed. One group of young men broke off to spray paint "R.I.P. Michael" on the street.
Demonstrators held their hands up in protest -- reflecting a witness’s statements that Brown had his hands up when he was shot by police.
“No justice, no peace,” demonstrators yelled.
St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley called for a peaceful dispersal following Sunday’s protests.
“Just need people to keep calm and [disperse] so no one gets hurt,” Dooley wrote.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the shooting occurred after an officer encountered two people -- one of whom was Brown — on the street near an apartment complex in Ferguson.
Belmar said a struggle began inside the officer’s squad car and spilled into the street, where Brown was shot multiple times. Police later said at a news conference that they “cannot say” how many times the unarmed teen was struck.
"Was the other subject, the deceased, the 18-year-old, armed with a handgun or rifle or any type of weapon at the time? The answer to that is no," Belmar said.
The Ferguson police officer involved has been put on leave as St. Louis County Police investigate the incident.
St. Louis 21st Ward Alderman Antonio French -- who posted video of Sunday night’s frenzy online -- told ABC News that anger from the shooting "boiled over," and that residents want a full investigation into Brown’s death.
“I think it's too many men, especially young, black men, who feel like, you know, that they don't have equal citizenship and that the relationship between them and the police is adversarial and that they're on the losing end, and that their lives are not valued," French said.
“We have a lot of work to do as a greater community, black and white, to come together to let these young men know that they are a part of the community and that we have a place for them.”
Brown’s relatives remain stunned by the shooting.
“He was good kid and they did that to him for no reason,” Brown’s grandmother Desiree Harris said.
ABC News Radio and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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