Violence erupts in Ferguson after grand jury decision

A St. Louis County grand has decided not to indict Darren Wilson, 28, a white police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, 18, an unarmed African-American teenager, in August in Ferguson, Missouri. The decision enraged the protestors and unrest shows signs of spreading throughout the U.S.

The decision by the grand jury was announced on Monday by the St. Louis County prosecutor, Robert P. McCulloch, at a news conference. He said, “There is no doubt that Wilson killed Brown but no probable cause exists to file any charges against Darren Wilson.”

The grand jurors, who heard 60 witnesses and all the evidence, sided with the police`s claim that Brown threatened Wilson in a police car and Wilson fired a gun according to the regulation. At least nine votes would have been required to indict Wilson but the 12-member panel consisting of nine whites and three blacks failed to reach the number.

President Barack Obama emphasized that we are a nation of laws and that “we must accept this as the grand jury’s decision to make.” However, Ferguson, a city that suffered unrest led by African American in August, declared a state of emergency on last Monday, turning into a place of violence reminding of a war zone.

Furious African Americans broke police cars and set fires to buildings in downtown. Some broke the windows of shops and looted them.