The standoff between protesters and riot police in a St. Louis suburb over the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown has entered its fourth night after the initially peaceful demonstrations turned violent.<br /><br />On Wednesday night an estimated 500 protesters ignored a night curfew declared by law enforcement. Chanting “Hands Up! Don't Shoot!,” they faced-off against riot police. <br /><br />After failing to disperse the demonstrators, officers fired tear gas and flashbangs in an attempt to clear the road. The protesters struck back, lobbing Molotov cocktails and smoke bombs.<br /><br />The latest night of violence came after a QuikTrip convenience store was looted and torched on Sunday night, a little over a day after the fatal shooting of Brown.<br /><br />The fatal shooting of Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by a yet-to-be identified white police officer, has sparked a nationwide fury.<br /><br />The clash has worsened racial tensions in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb where the majority of residents are black and all but three of its 53 police officers white. <br /><br />St. Louis County police spokesman Brian Schellman said police would review their use of military-style tactics after the night ended. He said that police did not yet know whether they would use the same tactics again if there was another protest.
