Police Shoot 18-year-old in Missouri, Spark Outrage
By Kevin Murphy
--Ferguson residents shouted "kill the police" after a young man was killed by a cop
--The investigation into the police shooting has been handed over to county police
--60 officers were called into Ferguson from surrounding areas to respond to protestors
A police officer in a community north of St. Louis shot an 18-year-old man to death outside an apartment building on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
Police did not say what prompted the shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, but scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. central time on Sunday.
St. Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman said the victim was believed to be black but he said he was not sure of the police officer’s race. About two-thirds of Ferguson residents are black, according to the U.S. Census.
Michael Brown, 18, was shot dead by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., prompting hundreds to gather in the street in protest.
Ferguson police turned the investigation over to the county police, which has not released the name of the victim pending further investigation.
The victim was identified by relatives as Michael Brown, who was scheduled to begin college classes Monday, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Brown's grandmother, Desiree Harris, told the Associated Press that she was driving through the neighborhood Saturday afternoon when she saw her grandson running a few blocks from her house.
"He was running this way," she said. "When I got up there, my grandson was lying on the pavement. I asked the police what happened. They didn't tell me nothing."
Louis Head, Brown’s stepfather, held a sign that said “Ferguson police just executed my unarmed son!!!” the Post Dispatch reported. And Lesley McSpadden, Brown’s mother, said the shooting was “wrong and it was cold-hearted.”
With the number of angry people heavily outnumbering the few officers at the scene after the shooting, about 60 police from surrounding jurisdictions were called in to keep order, Schellman said. No other injuries were reported, he said.
“The City of Ferguson is aware there are strong feelings following the tragic event that occurred on Canfield Drive earlier today,” said a statement posted on the Ferguson town website. "The St. Louis County Police Department is conducting an independent investigation of the events."
The St. Louis County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said on Twitter that it "plans to get to the bottom of the shooting of a young teenager in Ferguson by a police officer."
Reuters and the Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
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| Ferguson, Missouri youth protest police killing of African American youth on Sat. Aug. 9, 2014. The area is outside St. Louis. |
--Ferguson residents shouted "kill the police" after a young man was killed by a cop
--The investigation into the police shooting has been handed over to county police
--60 officers were called into Ferguson from surrounding areas to respond to protestors
A police officer in a community north of St. Louis shot an 18-year-old man to death outside an apartment building on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
Police did not say what prompted the shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, but scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. central time on Sunday.
St. Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman said the victim was believed to be black but he said he was not sure of the police officer’s race. About two-thirds of Ferguson residents are black, according to the U.S. Census.
Michael Brown, 18, was shot dead by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., prompting hundreds to gather in the street in protest.
Ferguson police turned the investigation over to the county police, which has not released the name of the victim pending further investigation.
The victim was identified by relatives as Michael Brown, who was scheduled to begin college classes Monday, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Brown's grandmother, Desiree Harris, told the Associated Press that she was driving through the neighborhood Saturday afternoon when she saw her grandson running a few blocks from her house.
"He was running this way," she said. "When I got up there, my grandson was lying on the pavement. I asked the police what happened. They didn't tell me nothing."
Louis Head, Brown’s stepfather, held a sign that said “Ferguson police just executed my unarmed son!!!” the Post Dispatch reported. And Lesley McSpadden, Brown’s mother, said the shooting was “wrong and it was cold-hearted.”
With the number of angry people heavily outnumbering the few officers at the scene after the shooting, about 60 police from surrounding jurisdictions were called in to keep order, Schellman said. No other injuries were reported, he said.
“The City of Ferguson is aware there are strong feelings following the tragic event that occurred on Canfield Drive earlier today,” said a statement posted on the Ferguson town website. "The St. Louis County Police Department is conducting an independent investigation of the events."
The St. Louis County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said on Twitter that it "plans to get to the bottom of the shooting of a young teenager in Ferguson by a police officer."
Reuters and the Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
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