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Ferguson protest: Gunshots fired at Michael Brown memorial service after hit and run

Footage shows the man being thrown to the side of the road and people screaming in shock

May Bulman
Wednesday 10 August 2016 16:56 BST
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Protestor run down and shots fired in Ferguson

Gunfire broke out after a hit and run during a peaceful protest in Ferguson to mark the second anniversary of Michael Brown's murder.

Video footage shows a man standing in the road in what appears to be an act of protest, before being hit by a fast-moving car.

It shows the man being thrown to the side of the road, and people can be heard screaming in shock.

Less than a minute later gunshots can be heard. It is not confirmed who fired them.

The incident occurred during a peaceful memorial for Brown, who was shot by a police officer at the age of 18 in August 2014.

At around 8pm police arrived on the scene after the protesters formed a line in the road and ordered the protesters to get off the road.

But shortly afterwards a protester, named locally as Jacoby Thomas, was hit by a car.

The driver allegedly failed to stop after hitting Mr Thomas.

A witness said in a video posted on Twitter: "The chief told them to unblock the street. Once they unblocked the street, people start driving down here 50 or 60 miles an hour and they hit a young man.

"Normally a person will pull over when they hit somebody. This person didn't stop."

The condition of Mr Thomas is unknown as he was taken from the scene in a private vehicle, police told the St Louis Post-Dispatch.

No one was injured in the shooting and no arrests were made, local police told AP.

Twitter users reported later on in the evening a man in a wheelchair was tasered by police officers and put into a police car.

A witness said: "A police officer just tased a man who asked for help. He said he wanted medical help and they tased him several times and they've put him in the cop car."

The death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in 2014 and the events that followed set off protests and unrest in Ferguson and other US cities.

It also led to the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is gaining momentum in the UK.

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