A Look at the Destruction After Ferguson Riots
— -- As the sun came up this morning in Ferguson, Missouri, it revealed destroyed businesses, burnt cars and wreckage from the riots that erupted after a grand jury cleared Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown.
A row of scorched cars covered in soot sat in a parking lot in nearby Dellwood, a manager surveyed the burned down building of the gas station where she works, and business owners assessed smashed windows and rubble from the fires.
"I know that there's at least a dozen buildings that have been set on fire," St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a press conference today. "Most of those are total losses. I know that I have two St. Louis County police cars that are basically melted on Florissant Road, just to the north of Suburban [Avenue]."
Many of the businesses were looted, just days before Thanksgiving.
St. Louis police arrested 61 people overnight for various charges including arson, unlawful assembly, assault, unlawful possession of a firearm, burglary, trespassing and more.
The riots came after news that Wilson was not indicted in the death of Brown, the unarmed teen Wilson shot and killed in August.
"Unfortunately, this spun out of control and frankly, what I'm seeing tonight -- and I've been out there all evening right in the middle of it along with Captain Johnson -- what I've seen tonight is probably much worse than the worst night we ever had in August," Belmar said.
At least a dozen people in Ferguson who were injured in the violence were treated at hospitals.
Protests also erupted in New York, Seattle, Oakland and other cities, demanding justice for Brown's family.
