At this point anyway, a lot of the facts remain in dispute. According to what information has been released by the police department involved, the victim started the confrontation by shoving the police officer back into his car, and then a struggle for the officer's gun ensued. The victim was likely shot once during this altercation. Then, the victim exited the car and was subsequently shot outside of same.
Witnesses (or people purporting to be witnesses) have claimed that the individual was some distance from the officer and had raised his hands when he was shot. He was unarmed.
The police department (Ferguson MO) has not released further statements. The FBI has stepped in and is actively soliciting cell-phone camera or other video footage from possible witnesses.
The young man's body lay in the street for some hours as the crime scene was processed, further provoking the crowd of onlookers. Another department (St. Louis County) was called in to conduct the investigation. A vigil put together for the night of the shooting turned violent and several businesses were looted, burned, etc.
There have been subsequent incidents in areas outside of the small municipality where the shooting occurred. A shoe store was looted in South St. Louis last night, many miles from the area of the shooting. The department is putting together an extra-patrol detail for the coming week. Also, the FBI is cautioning that a couple of large area shopping malls may be targeted for looting/vandalism.
The parents have appealed to the community with the message that they don't want their son's memory to be tarnished by the spectre of criminal acts and violence. Apparently he was preparing to attend college in the fall, and wanted to eventually go into business for himself.
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