Protesters riot in Ferguson
A grand jury in the US has decided not to charge the police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, 18. The announcement has prompted riots in Ferguson and sparked wider protests across the country.
Violence erupts
Outrage swept through peaceful protests in Ferguson with the announcement that there would be no charges brought against the white police officer who had fatally shot African American Michael Brown. After police moved in with tear gas, some demonstrators began ransacking local businesses. Fire and smoke soon lit up the night sky as at least a dozen buildings and several cars went up in flames.
Protesters try to stop unrest
Some protesters attempted to stop the unrest, which is believed to have been started by a small group. Within hours, US media showed images of dozens of people smashing windows of local shops and then leaving with arms full of stolen merchandise.
'No probable cause'
The circumstances surrounding Brown's death sparked protests in August after witnesses contended that police officer Darren Wilson had shot the 18-year-old without cause after a verbal altercation. According to early accounts, Brown had his hands raised in surrender when Wilson shot him, a pose now mimicked in protests or drawn as two upraised hands.
No charges for Wilson
The grand jury, however, found that there was "no probable cause" against police officer Darren Wilson after hearing all of the witness. Brown's family was "profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions."
Protesters show solidarity
In New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles, thousands of Americans took to the streets in solidarity with Ferguson after the grand jury's decision.
Obama calls for calm
US President Barack Obama urged Americans angered by the grand jury decision to remain peaceful. "We are a nation built on the rule of law, so we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury's to make," he said. Some critics in the US have accused Obama of not showing enough leadership in race relations given his historic role as the country's first African American president.
Injustice in America
Brown's was the second widely-covered death of a young black male in recent years. In 2012, a Florida man shot dead an unarmed black teen on his property, claiming he had posed a threat. Both cases have reignited public debate in the US, where a disproportionate number of African Americans are killed by police and black men face an incarceration rate six times higher than that of white men.