BERKELEY, Mo., Dec. 24 (UPI) — The young man shot and killed by an officer at a gas station near Ferguson, Mo., had a handgun, a police official said.
The shooting late Tuesday in Berkeley, Mo., quickly attracted protesters.
About 200 people gathered, Some fought with police and a nearby convenience store was attacked by vandals.
The Rev. Starsky Wilson, a co-chairman of a commission created by Gov. Jay Nixon after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, came to the gas station. He said most protesters were non-violent.
“When you see police escalate, you see violence,” Wilson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch..
Toni Martin said the young man who was killed was her son, Antonio, 18. She said he was at the Mobil gas station at about 11:15 p.m.
“They got my baby laying out there, he’s been out there for about two hours,” she told NBC News early Wednesday.
St. Louis County Police Sgt. Brian Schellman said that videotape from a security camera shows the police officer, doing a routine check on the gas station, only pulled his gun after Martin raised his. Schellman said the video shows the officer approaching two people.
“You can see the gentleman raise a handgun and the officer fire a shot,” Schellman said.
In August, Brown, 18, who was unarmed, was shot and killed by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, setting off massive protests. Wilson told the grand jury that declined to indict him that Brown threatened him physically
At 4:30 a.m., a few protesters remained at the scene, including Darien Gatewood, a foundry worker.
“Somebody just lost their son before Christmas,” Gatewood said. “This is a present from law enforcement.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.