17 Arrested at St. Louis Protest

Police say 17 people were arrested for unlawful assembly early Sunday morning during a protest at a QuikTrip near the Grove business and entertainment district of St. Louis. Around 150 to 200 people marched to the store at 1:30 a.m. to protest local police shootings. At the QuikTrip, around 50 protesters conducted a sit-in and blocked the entrance. “They say 'move back,' we say 'fight back,'" protestors chanted when police in riot gear appeared and told them they were committing unlawful assembly. St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson was on the scene. "Protestors now throwing rocks at the police. Arrests have been made for continued illegal behavior,” he said in a message sent via Twitter. A QuikTrip in Ferguson was the site of looting the day after Michael Brown was killed. It subsequently became a staging area for protests until police barred access to the store. In addition to the Michael Brown shooting, an officer fatally wounded 18-year-old Vonderrit D. Myers Jr. on Wednesday. Police say Myers fired on the officer first.