Gunshots rang out and bottles and rocks were thrown as protester violence erupted onto the streets of Ferguson, Missouri.<br /><br />Anger boiled over following the decision by a grand jury not to to charge a white police officer in last August’s shooting of black unarmed teenager Michael Brown,.<br /><br />Police on Monday evening reacted with tear gas and smoke bombs in a bid to disperse the crowds. <br /><br />President Barack Obama immediately called for protesters to remain peaceful and for police to show restraint.<br /><br />“First and foremost we are a nation built on the rule of law and so we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury’s to make.<br />There are Americans who agree with it and there are Americans who are deeply disappointed – even angry. It’s an understandable reaction. But I join Michael’s parents in asking anyone who protests this decision to do so peacefully.”<br /><br />More protests have sprung up in several other US cities including Los Angeles and Seattle.<br /><br />The death of 18-year-old Michael Brown has become a flash point in US race relations.<br /><br />Monday’s decision by a grand jury not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the teenager’s shooting was greeted with disappointment by the youngster’s parents.
