Looters ransacked and burned stores in a St. Louis suburb on Sunday night in the wake of the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a police officer.
The unrest manifested in various ways and encompassed several areas. Gunshots were heard, and a SWAT team was dispatched, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The QuikTrip at 9420 West Florissant Avenue was looted and later burned.
The Dispatch also reports that the Walmart near Interstate 270 was looted, as were cell phone stores, clothing stores, and dollar stores.
Police cars were vandalized and store windows smashed as people were “carrying out goods, including bottles of alcohol.” St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley confirmed “widespread property damage.”
“This is the first time I can remember this ever happening here,” said St. Louis Police Capt. Ed Kuntz, a 34-year police veteran.
President Barack Obama has yet to comment on the civil unrest, as he is currently on a 12-day vacation in Martha’s Vineyard.