The anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown was remembered by gatherings across the nation. But in Ferguson, Missouri, a protest turned violent overnight.
St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger declared a state of emergency Monday due to the turn of events from peaceful to horribly violent, according to USA Today.
“In light of last night’s violence and unrest in the city of Ferguson, and the potential for harm to persons and property, I am exercising my authority as county executive to issue a state of emergency effective immediately,” Stenger said in a statement. “The recent acts of violence will not be tolerated in a community that has worked so tirelessly over the last year to rebuild and become stronger.”
Due to the events and state of emergency, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar has taken immediate action to organize and control policing in Ferguson.
The protests in Ferguson began as peaceful on Sunday as the community remembered Brown. But unfortunately, the serene gathering turned violent that night.
At this time, there are three people that have been reported as shot and four arrested due to the violent overtaking of the protest. Belmar spoke at a 3:30 a.m. news conference to share what he knew. He stated that one of the suspects who was shot by the police is in “critical, unstable” condition. He was taken to a local hospital immediately after the incident for surgery.
Belmar explained that there was shootout between at least six people. When the suspect ran they also shot at the police who were attempting to chase him. The police were said to be in an unmarked vehicle, but that they did have emergency lights that were flashing.
The four detectives, all who shot at the suspect, have been put on administrative leave.
“There is a small group of people out there who are intent on making sure we don’t have peace that prevails,” Belmar said. “That’s just the bottom line on this and that’s just unfortunate…We can’t afford to have this kind of violence.”
The suspect who was shot was identified as Tyrone Harris by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It was also said that Harris, 18, was a very close friend of Brown’s.