Protests against police shootings continue in the US

Several protesters, including religious leaders, were arrested on Monday as they stepped forward into a line of officers in riot gear outside the city's police department.

Hundreds of protesters led by clergy members marched from Wellspring Church in Ferguson to the city's police station in heavy rain as leaders with bullhorns read the names of the people killed by police nationwide, including Venderrit Myers, Jr, who was killed last Wednesday by a white police officer in St. Louis.

About 40 police officers with riot gear formed a protective line between marchers and the police station. Police made arrests after several protesters tried to cross the police line. American activist Cornel West was among the first to be led away, followed by other protesters.

And in St. Louis, a local source told Xinhua that over 1,000 demonstrators gathered at the campus of St. Louis University on Sunday night through early Monday morning. Myers' family also joined the demonstration. Myers'father spoke briefly to the demonstrators and thanked them for their support.

Ten days after black youth Michael Brown was shot dead by police in Ferguson this August, another black youth was killed by police at a location just six miles from where Brown was killed. Earlier this month, 18-year-old Vonderrit Myers Jr was killed by an off-duty white police officer in St. Louis.

The shootings resulted in a series of protests in the area and a four-day event named Ferguson October was underway, which the organizers say is aimed at raising public awareness of police misconduct and appealing for the demilitarization of the police.

Source: Xinhua