A protester takes shelter from a cloud created by smoke bombs and tear gas on Wednesday, in Ferguson, Mo. People took to the streets of the St. Louis suburb in response to the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown. David Carson/AP
(Reuters) – Police in Ferguson, Missouri, fired tear gas, stun grenades and smoke bombs to disperse some 350 protesters late Wednesday, the fourth night of racially charged demonstrations after police shot to death an unarmed black teen.
Some demonstrators hurled rocks at police as others scattered, while smoke engulfed the area. A Reuters reporter saw two young men preparing what looked like petrol bombs in a bus-stop shelter, their faces covered by bandanas. Police said protesters had thrown petrol bombs at officers.
Protesters have gathered every night since Saturday when 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot to death in the mostly black suburb of St. Louis, during what authorities said was a struggle over a gun in a police car. Some witnesses say he was outside the car with his hands up.
Police have deployed camouflage-clad officers in body armor, including one manning a rifle on a tripod atop an armored car, to Ferguson.
“I’ve had enough of being pushed around because of the color of my skin. I’m sick of this police brutality,” said one protester, who gave only his first name, Terrell, 18. “I’m going to keep coming back here night after night until we get justice.”
A St. Louis alderman, Antonio French, was among some 10 people arrested on Wednesday evening, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper reported. About 40 protesters have been arrested since Saturday.
National figures from President Barack Obama to civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton have called for a peaceful response to the shooting.
Obama, who is vacationing on the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard, was briefed on Wednesday night about events in Ferguson by senior advisor Valerie Jarrett and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the White House said.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said in a series of Twitter messages he would visit the area on Thursday, and urged “law enforcement to respect rights of residents (and) press” with the hopes that the “ongoing crisis” does not compound Saturday’s “tragedy.”
“Situation in Ferguson does not represent who we are. Must keep the peace, while safeguarding rights of citizens and the press,” Nixon wrote.
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