Police shoot and kill unarmed teen, sparking riots in Ferguson, Missouri

A police officer shot and killed unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown Saturday night in Ferguson, Missouri, a working-class suburb of St. Louis.

Brown’s mother Lesley McSpadden said her her son was shot eight times following an altercation with an unidentified officer.

The shooting sparked outrage Sunday morning and protesters gathered en masse outside of the Ferguson Police Department.

"We are one!" Michael Brown's uncle leads the crowd in a chant of unity. https://t.co/p2WsCYUZaW

— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) August 10, 2014

By Sunday evening, riots had erupted.

Confronting police in riot gear #FergusonShooting @stltoday pic.twitter.com/DrwR7eoqC5

— stevegiegerich (@stevegiegerich) August 11, 2014

Overnight and through early Monday morning, nearly 300 police officers responded to the scene where gunfire, looting and arson were reported. Tear gas was used to subdue the crowds, 32 arrests were made and two officers were injured.

https://twitter.com/SteveOsunsami/status/498788507456778240/

Due to unsafe conditions in north St. Louis County, the Jennings School District is delaying first day of school until tomorrow. #MikeBrown

— elisacrouch (@elisacrouch) August 11, 2014

One of hardest A1s I've ever had to design. #Ferguson is my town. Time to go home. Kudos to all reporters, photogs. pic.twitter.com/nSiBsN9uU6

— Josh Renaud (@Kirkman) August 11, 2014

Outside of Ferguson, people took their outrage to Twitter. Throughout the course of the day, #Ferguson and #MikeBrown were the subject of tweets more than 100,000 times, with many drawing a comparison to the shooting of Trayvon Martin and comparing the riots to the 1965 riots in Watts. The Watts riots started 49 years ago today.

Anger has not yet subsided and protests have continued, despite Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III’s attempts to cancel the gatherings.

Video of Monday protests by Antonio French — Alderman of St. Louis’s 21st Ward.

An investigation into Brown’s death has begun, and Benjamin Crump — the lawyer who represented Trayvon Martin’s case — has been hired to represent Brown’s family. St. Louis County officials announced mid-day on Monday that they’ve asked the FBI to run a parallel investigation into the shooting. St. Louis Public Radio is following developments in the story live.