Free Republic

St. Louis (Reuters) - A black teenager fatally shot last week in St. Louis by an off-duty police officer had gunshot residue on his hands, jeans and T-shirt, according to crime lab results released on Tuesday after four days of protests in the city against police violence. The killing of 18-year-old Vonderrit Myers by a white officer last Wednesday intensified the demonstrations over the deadly Aug. 9 shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. Police said previously that Myers shot at least three times at the off-duty officer...

In what is already being cited by the media as a flashback to the events in Furguson, there has been another shooting in the St. Lois area involving a white police officer and a black teenager. This one has several twists, however, which at least initially make it sound like a different set of circumstances. But the resulting protests look eerily similar. Another police-involved fatal shooting of a teenager, this time in south St. Louis not far from the Missouri Botanical Garden, led to hours of protests overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning as an angry crowd gathered quickly...

Wednesday's shooting happened at about 7:30 p.m. in the city's Shaw Neighborhood, and involved an officer working a department-approved secondary job for a private security company, Police Chief Sam Dotson said at an early-morning news conference. The officer approached a group of men. One of the men took off running, Dotson said, so the officer pursued. Dotson said the suspect approached the officer in an "aggressive" manner, with a physical altercation occurring. The man then turned and fired three rounds at the officer before his gun jammed, Dotson said.

Two months after a Ferguson officer killed Michael Brown, setting off intense national debate about law enforcement treatment of minorities, the shooting death of another black 18-year-old by police in nearby St. Louis has reignited anger among activists already planning weekend protests. Police say Vonderrit D. Myers was shot Wednesday after he opened fire on a white, off-duty officer, but Myers' parents say he was unarmed. Some activists and lawmakers say Myers was targeted because he was black and are asking the Justice Department — which has opened a civil rights investigation into the death of Brown, who was unarmed...

Traffic in St. Louis’s Shaw neighborhood came to a standstill on Thursday after demonstrators protesting the shooting of a black teen killed by a white off-duty policeman blocked streets in the city’s Shaw neighborhood. The shooting Wednesday of Vonderritt Myers Jr. came two months after the shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. While Brown was unarmed, authorities claimed Myers had a gun and shot at the off-duty officer before the cop retaliated with fatal gunfire. ---snip--- Thursday marked the second day protests erupted in St. Louis. Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery said St. Louis police officers used different tactics...

St. Louis Police Officer Fatally Shoots Teen Incident Sparks Protest Echoing Those in Nearby Ferguson, Mo. Ben Kesling An off-duty St. Louis police officer shot and killed a black teenager Wednesday evening, triggering protests in a metropolitan area that has been rattled by weeks of sometimes violent unrest in some neighborhoods following a high-profile police-involved shooting in August. The white, six-year veteran of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, who was working as a private security officer, shot and killed Vonderrit Myers Jr., an 18-year-old black teen, following an alleged struggle and after the teen allegedly fired a pistol at...

An 18 year-old teenager was shot by a police officer in St. Louis City Wednesday night. The suspect reportedly shot at the officer during a chase. A 9mm Ruger was recovered from the scene. The shooting took place around 7:30 PM CT.Hundreds of protesters, including Ferguson protest leaders, took to the street after the shooting. (Matthew Wyczalkowski)Once again, the grievance mongers in the St. Louis region are calling for a revolution, a war against police. Its going to b a civil war the police against the people @SLMPD when the police approach us we need 2 shoot first ask ?...

Update, from 1 a.m. media briefing: St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said the officer was patrolling the neighborhood for a private firm at the time of the shooting. He confirmed that the victim was 18 years old. Dotson said the officer was in a car when he saw three males and one of them started to run away but stopped. The officer did a U-turn and then all three ran. He drove through streets following them and then chased them on foot. He then got into a physical confrontation with one that escalated into gunfire. The teenager had a...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Police said a suspect is dead after an officer involved shooting in south St. Louis Wednesday night. Authorities said the shooting occurred in the 4100 block of Shaw. According to police, an officer, who was off duty, but working a security detail for a company, drove up to four men. Authorities said the four men ran as the officer got out of his car. According to police, the officer then chased after them. "As he exited the car, the gentlemen took off running. He was able to follow one of them before he lost him and then found him again...