More violence over police shooting of black teen

Violence again erupted in the St Louis area near the site of the police shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, according to local police, despite calls by US President Barack Obama and activists for a measured response.

Early yesterday, a police officer shot and critically wounded a man who allegedly drew a handgun near the site of protests over the death of Michael Brown, 18, a St Louis County Police Department officer said.

Police responded about an hour after midnight to reports of four or five men with shotguns and wearing ski masks. They encountered multiple suspects running, one of whom pulled a gun on an officer, who fired at him, the county officer said. The man was taken to hospital.

Shortly after midnight, police fired tear gas into protesters who had confronted a line of officers after a far larger crowd dispersed, St Louis County Police Department spokesman Brian Schellman said.

A photograph in the St Louis Post-Dispatch showed a protester wearing a shirt with a US flag printed on it throwing a tear gas container back at the police. There were other reports of bottles thrown at police.

The incidents followed two nights of violent protests, looting and arrests in Ferguson, the largely black St Louis suburb where the shooting of Brown took place.

Obama promised a full investigation by the US Department of Justice into the teenager’s death.

Friends and family of Brown held a peaceful church vigil on Tuesday night, after his father pleaded for an end to the violence.

Police said Brown was shot in a struggle with a gun in a police car but have not said why he was in the car. At least one shot was fired during the struggle, and then the officer fired more shots before leaving the car, police said.

The officer has not yet been named, fuelling anger over the shooting.