After Weeks of Calm, Ferguson Erupts Over Burned Memorial

After Weeks of Calm, Ferguson Erupts Over Burned Memorial

After the death of Michael Brown, the city of Ferguson, Missouri was like a war zone, with constant looting and assaults and rioting. Things finally seemed to have calmed down, until a memorial to Brown was burned, causing the riots and violence to start again.

burned-memorial

Five people were arrested as tensions flared again in Ferguson, Missouri, with people threatening officers, shooting at them, throwing rocks and bottles, and one person tossing a Molotov cocktail at a parking structure, police say.

Two officers were injured, one struck by a rock below the eye, Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol said. And a business owner said looters tried to make off with his cash register. It was the third time the business had been broken into in the last six weeks, Johnson said.

… Across town, about 2 miles from the normal protest route, a museum and custard shop called the Whistle Stop was set on fire, and “gasoline appears to have been poured around that facility,” Johnson said.

Officers were able to douse the small fire with a garden hose, the trooper said. The St. Louis County Bomb and Arson Squad was called in to investigate, CNN affiliate KSDK reported.

… Back on the protest route, police faced threats to their safety as violent people amid the protest made threatening remarks “about shooting police, about burning down the town,” Johnson said.

… It was in that area, along Canfield Drive, that police in bulletproof vests saw muzzle flashes as people fired at them.

“I was there. I took cover,” Johnson said.

The memorial to Brown should not have been burned down, but how does that excuse any of these actions? Rioting, looting, throwing Molotov cocktails, setting fires, attacking police — there is no excuse for any of this, and anyone caught participating should be thrown in jail.

Share this!

Enjoy reading? Share it with your friends!