As reported in '
The Japan News' :
The Associated Press
Protesters block a street on Thursday, a day after Vonderrit Myers was shot and killed by a white, off-duty police officer in St. Louis, Mo.
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — 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 — to investigate his shooting.
“This here was racial profiling turned deadly,” said state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed.
The shooting — the third fatal shooting of a black male by St. Louis area police since Brown’s death — happened as activists and other protesters prepared for four days of rallies and marches over the Brown shooting. Organizers say the events, which start Friday and include a march Saturday in St. Louis, have taken on added urgency.
Brown’s Aug. 9 death spurred weeks of unrest in Ferguson and the St. Louis region. A state grand jury is deciding whether the officer who shot him, Darren Wilson, will face charges.
Police say Myers was both armed and aggressive, using a stolen 9mm gun to shoot at the officer.
Syreeta Myers told The Associated Press by phone Thursday that her son was holding a sandwich, not a gun.
St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said the officer spotted Myers and two other males around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday while working a security job and patrolling near the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Dotson said the officer, who was wearing his uniform despite being off-duty, became suspicious when one of them started to run.Speech
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