FERGUSON, MO, AUGUST 20 (RIA Novosti) – Law enforcers shot at protestors, engaged in peaceful demonstrations over the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer in the US city of Ferguson, one of the demonstrators, Johanna Lyn told RIA Novosti.
“I’ve been here since day one. We have peaceful protesters, who are standing on a line. If you cross that line, you will be shot dead. These are peaceful protesters saying don’t shoot, with their hands up, and the police shot into the crowd and fired tear gas,” Lyn told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
“Michael Brown is why we are standing up but if you talk to the protesters out here you will see that this is not just a Ferguson problem. They have created this problem and now they have brought the military in to control it and they cannot control it. They are creating a resistance.”
Ferguson, a mostly-black suburb of St Louis with some 21,000 residents, has been rocked by protests since the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teen, while walking with a friend down a residential street on the afternoon of August 9.
Missouri National Guard troops have been deployed to tackle the violence, which grew fiercer on Monday night as peaceful protesters were infiltrated by violent looters from as far as New York and California, police said.
On Tuesday, protesters threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at police officers, who responded by firing stun grenades and using tear gas to disperse the angry crowd.
According to St. Louis County police, more than 100 people have been arrested since the beginning of the protests.
The funeral of the teenager has been scheduled for Monday, August 25, the family's attorney announced Tuesday.
"Funeral arrangements for #MichaelBrown have been confirmed for Monday. A press release with complete details will follow," Benjamin Crump said on his Twitter account.
