About 61 people were arrested during a night of unrest in the St. Louis suburbs following a grand jury's decision not to charge a white police officer for the fatal August shooting of an unarmed black teen, the St. Louis County Police Department said Tuesday.
The same night, a policeman was shot and wounded in University City, a St. Louis suburb near Ferguson, Mo., though it was unclear if the shooting was related to street protests over the grand jury's decision to not indict Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown case, police said.
The unidentified officer, who was shot in the arm, was transported to a nearby hospital, local NBC affiliate KSDK tweeted, adding that he is expected to recover. A search for the suspect was underway, the St. Louis County Police Department said in a message on Twitter.
On Monday night, chaos and unrest returned to the streets of Ferguson after the grand jury announced its verdict, with thousands of enraged protesters coming out and setting fire to dozens of buildings and cars, looting businesses in the area where the unarmed, black 18-year-old was fatally shot, while police responded with tear gas and flash-bang canisters, Breitbart reported.
Hundreds of gunshots were reportedly heard by authorities, which for some time prevented fire crews from responding to emergency scenes and fighting the flames.
About 61 people were arrested overnight on charges ranging from unlawful assembly to arson to trespassing and burglary, St. Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman said. A majority of the arrests, about 21, occurred along South Grand Avenue where some protesters had smashed business windows, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said.
Only nine of those taken into custody were from Ferguson, authorities confirmed, according to TheBlaze.
By Tuesday morning, smoke billowed from some businesses while shattered glass covered the sidewalks in front of others. The destruction appeared to be much worse than protests after August's shootings, with more than a dozen businesses badly damaged or destroyed.
"I'm disappointed in this evening. ... I didn't see a lot of peaceful protests out there tonight," St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said during an early morning news conference, adding that he had heard about 150 gunshots during the night.
Belmar said he looked forward to getting more National Guard troops in the community, as Gov. Jay Nixon ordered earlier in the evening, but he defended police preparedness, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"I don't think we were underprepared," he said, adding, "I don't think we can prevent folks who are really intent on destroying a community."
"I didn't foresee an evening like this," he said. "I'll be honest with you."
Meanwhile, most streets in Ferguson had almost cleared by Tuesday morning, Reuters reported.
