U.S.

Ferguson Unrest Resumes After Michael Brown Memorial Burns Down

It's unclear if a fire that torched a makeshift memorial for Michael Brown was intentionally set or not.

By Adam Chandler
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Several weeks after the turbulence that followed the August 9 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., a new round of unrest is being reported. As NBC News and others are noting, the catalyst for the renascent protests appears to be the burning down of a Michael Brown memorial in Ferguson:

Local news affiliate KSDK reported that there was a break-in Tuesday at Beauty Town, a West Florissant cosmetics supply store. There were also reports of gun shots fired near the apartment complex where Brown lived and allegedly outside of Beauty Town. Roughly 200 protesters eventually converged on the scene, according to KDSK.

It's unclear if the memorial was intentionally burned down or if, as some suggest, the fire resulted from the many candles at the memorial.

Nevertheless, on Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning, there were numerous accounts of protests in Ferguson, light clashes between police and a crowd of a few hundred demonstrators including some reports of rock-throwing, damage to police vehicles, and seven arrests.

The Post Dispatch added:

Police officials, including Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar and St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson, went to the scene. The crowd eventually dwindled to about 50 to 75 shortly before midnight. A line of about a dozen police faced the remaining protesters.

Police reported eschewed riot gear and were said to have worn body cameras. Numerous Twitter accounts posted the photo below, allegedly of a police officer wearing a bracelet in tribute to Darren Wilson — the police officer who shot Michael Brown.

If authentic, this could augur badly for restoring calm in Ferguson.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.