Peaceful protests turn violent; fires, looting, shootings in St. Louis chaos

ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) – Peaceful, tense and late night violent protests continue to break out across the St. Louis region as part of a renewed nationwide movement to bring awareness to police brutality against black citizens.

The days of protests were triggered by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes. That officer, who was videotaped during the arrest, has been charged with murder.

St. Louis County officers involved shoot looting suspect after chase

According to officials, St. Louis City officers were responding to reports of looting near Natural Bridge and Union around 2:30 a.m. when someone inside a maroon Chevrolet Impala began firing shots at them.

The suspects then sped off, leading police on a chase on Interstate 70 near Goodfellow. Officers from St. Louis County joined the chase when they drove through Jennings.

"Three people exited that vehicle and fled. At least two of them were armed," Sgt. Ben Granda of the St. Louis Police Department said. "An officer discharged his weapon in defense of himself and those with him, striking the suspect."

Police said a 21-year-old was wounded and taken to a hospital for life-saving treatment.

A second suspect, described as a 25-year-old man, was taken into custody, while a third fled into a wooded area, police said. Two handguns were founded nearby. 

Retired St. Louis Captain killed as North City pawn shop is looted

A retired St. Louis City police captain was shot and killed outside of a looted North City pawn shop overnight.

Around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, police found 77-year-old David Dorn shot dead outside of Lee's Pawn and Jewelry store in the 4100 block of Martin Luther King Dr. St. Louis police also noted that the pawn shop had been looted.

According to a previous report by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, in 2008 Dorn was hired as the police chief of Moline Acres after spending 38 years with the St. Louis Police Department. 

Four St. Louis officers shot amid rioting, looting

Four police officers were shot in downtown St. Louis amid ongoing violent protests Monday night; a shooting Police Chief John Hayden said was carried out by "cowardly" individuals.

The shooting happened near St. Louis police headquarters, around 16th and Olive, where a group of protesters and police had been clashing repeatedly throughout the night.

All four officers are expected to be okay. 

A very emotional chief John Hayden addressed the shooting last night outside of the hospital.  "Can we make some sense out of this? ... This is horrible.” Watch his remarks here.

Looters set fire to 7-Eleven in downtown; clash with St. Louis police

Police and protesters clashed in downtown St. Louis Monday night, throwing fireworks, breaking windows and doors, looting and, eventually, setting fire to a 7-Eleven.

The tension came as the sun went down, after thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully through downtown St. Louis Monday afternoon.

After hundreds gathered outside of police headquarters on Olive Street, police formed a line and began pushing protesters away from the main entrance of the building. 

Video showed a firework exploding very near officers outside the police headquarters, and police deploying tear gas, which sent dozens of protesters running.

Shortly after that, looting of the 7-Eleven began, which was eventually set on fire.

Huge crowd marches on Market Street in downtown St. Louis, then closes Highway 40

A crowd, estimated as a couple thousand people, marched from the St. Louis City Justice Center down Market Street Monday afternoon.

The "Expect Us" protesters, which was peaceful, chanted and and carried signs, calling for justice.

The crowd marched to the arch, then marched onto the westbound lanes of Highway 40 in downtown. St. Louis officers block traffic at the Poplar Street Bridge to ensure safety. 

Protesters damage Brentwood stores; block traffic and set off fireworks near the Galleria

Some stores in the Brentwood Square shopping center were closed Monday after protesters broke windows and caused damage inside. Nordstrom Rack, REI, AT&T were seen boarded up and with repair crews on site Monday. Around the same time Sunday night, dozens of protesters congregated at the St. Louis Galleria, at times blocking Brentwood and Clayton roads.

News 4 crews saw at least one man setting off fireworks in the nearby CVS parking lot. Police were seen escorting one person in handcuffs.

St. Louis police scramble to keep up with early Monday morning break-ins

First responders were busy overnight investigating a string of break-ins and a fire in St. Louis.

Two Sprint stores were broken into near downtown St. Louis and in the Central West End. Several people were gathering around the Sprint store on Washington Ave.

News 4 crews also saw shattered glass at their Central West End store on Lindell. It is unknown if anything was stolen from either location.

Police were then called to STL Grillz in the Delmar Loop where every window was shattered. The owners said nothing was stolen.

For second night in a row, peaceful protests turn violent, destructive in Ferguson

Demonstrators gathered around the Ferguson Police Department for a second night in a row Sunday. Some protesters threw rocks and fireworks at officers just after 9 p.m. and Ferguson police officers gave them verbal warnings to disperse.

The St. Louis County Police Department then said the situation has become an unlawful assembly as protesters refused to stop and continued attacking the officers. Two officers were injured as a result.

Several Ferguson businesses were broken into and News 4 cameras were rolling as two small explosions occurred within those businesses. Police also said a Molotov cocktail was thrown in their direction. A total of six people were arrested. St. Louis County said there were reports of shots fired at officers.

Sunday night, St. Louis County police made six arrests; three for assault on law enforcement officers, one for destruction of property, one for unlawful possession of an explosive weapon, and one for an active warrant. Each are adult men from the St. Louis area.

National Guard stands ready

Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed an Executive Order to declare a State of Emergency in Missouri due to civil unrest on Saturday.

The Missouri National Guard and the Missouri Highway Patrol will stand ready to support local authorities.

Troopers from the Missouri State Highway Patrol assisted law enforcement in Kansas City and St. Louis. Seven officers were injured in Ferguson Saturday night as a peaceful protest turned violent after the initial organizers left and a different group of people arrived to the Ferguson Police department. 

Protest, a thousand people strong, moves through streets of Clayton and University City

A huge peaceful protest moved through the streets of Clayton and University City Saturday.

The protest started around 3:00 p.m. when around 1,500 Protesters blocked intersections and made their way onto Forest Park Parkway and walked east, first in the westbound lanes, then on both sides of the road.

"We need to do something about this, they got to stop killing us," one demonstrator said. Demonstrators then sat down on the road at its intersection with Big Bend near the Washington University campus before they marched north on Big Bend to the Delmar Loop.

Peaceful protests brings families together in Edwardsville

About 300 people marched in front of the Madison County Court House Sunday afternoon joining the nation in protest of police brutality.

"We're still having to deal with innocent people getting killed in the street for absolutely no reason at all," organizer Haylee Cathorall said. Cathorall, an 18-year-old, organized the gathering and said it all started with a simple post on Facebook.

"I wanted to organize this because black lives do matter, and it doesn't sound like it from around the community we need to hear our voices," she said.

Peaceful protests aim to fight injustice through prayer in Ferguson

Before the aggression and violence in Ferguson Sunday night, a calmer seen unfolded on South Florissant Avenue.

Ferguson pastor Jonathan Tremaine, a leader of Sunday's peaceful protest, wanted to the world to see what the people of Ferguson stand for.

A community came together to fight injustice through prayer.

For 22-year-old Chad Bennett, George Floyd was the tipping point that inspired him to make a sign and stand in protest outside of the Ferguson Police Department.

“I am sick and tired of the violence's effect on our people,” Bennett said.

Ferguson protests turn violent Saturday night

The George Floyd protest in Ferguson took a turn Saturday night as people started throwing rocks and fireworks at the Ferguson Police Department.  News 4 crews saw people throw several items at the building just before 10:30 p.m. Several windows of the police station were shattered. Tear gas was deployed by officers as more fireworks were set off by the demonstrators.

Protests and demonstrations turn deadly

Protests were held in downtown St. Louis Friday night and a man was killed after being dragged by a FedEx truck as people filled the streets. A crowd of protesters surrounded the truck, police said two people standing on the passenger side footboard pointed guns at the driver. 

Fearing for his safety, police said the driver sounded his horn and then drove off, but someone caught by a trailer tire was pulled under and run over. The victim was taken to a hospital where he later died.