FERGUSON, November 26 (Sputnik) — Those protesting and rioting over the police killing of an unarmed black teenager need to bring an end to the violence, local resident Zach Wilson told Sputnik News Agency on Wednesday.
“Over the next couple of nights hopefully everybody can remain peaceful and we can try to get a message out there of justice for everyone and equality for everyone,” Wilson, a 24-year-old salesman, said.
“We need to move on as a community. I hope it doesn't carry on and that we have policemen out here night after night,” he said, standing in front of a burned-out building in Ferguson.
“This is a moment to remember, a moment of history. Hopefully this has to stand for something and these events can be a moment that helps bring about changes in our community,” said Wilson.
On Monday, a grand jury decided not to bring charges against white police officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American 18-year-old, during an altercation in a leafy backstreet on August 9. The shooting was followed by weeks of often-violent protests in Ferguson and other cities across the country.
Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis of some 21,000 residents, has now erupted in a fresh wave of rioting, looting and violent clashes between police and protesters over the grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer in the death of Brown.