Weekend protests in St. Louis over Brown killing net 17 arrests

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS

Seventeen people were arrested during weekend protests, St. Louis police said Sunday, and more demonstrations were planned over the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson this summer.

Organizers of the four-day Ferguson October summit are protesting the shooting of the black man by a white policeman, which sparked sometimes violent demonstrations in the predominantly black St. Louis suburb of Ferguson in August.

Early Sunday morning, several protesters made their way to the south St. Louis neighborhood where another black 18-year-old was killed by a white police officer recently. Protesters occupied a Quicktrip gas station convenience store and staged a sit-in.

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson posted on Twitter that protesters were "attempting to storm" the business. He later posted that protesters were "throwing rocks at the police."

St. Louis police spokeswoman Schron Jackson said Sunday in an email that 17 people were arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly. There were no reports of injuries or property damage, the email said.

On Monday, a "direct action" led by local and visiting clergy members is planned for Ferguson and other spots in and around St. Louis. Protest leaders don't plan to release details until shortly ahead of time to avoid tipping off law enforcement. Leaders are taking their cues from the Moral Monday demonstrations that began last year in North Carolina before spreading to several other Southern states.