Black man shot dead by Missouri police

An off-duty St. Louis police officer has shot and killed a young African-American man, causing residents once again to stand up against US police brutality.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said the officer shot the man Wednesday night after the suspect fired at the officer, who was not hurt.

The shooting incident happened just two months after the fatal police shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown sparked angry protests in Missouri.   

According to witnesses, the man was shot 16 times and he was only armed with a sandwich.

The man, identified as Vonderrick Myers Jr, was 18-year-old.

The victim’s cousin Teyonna Myers said Myers was unarmed.

“He had a sandwich in his hand, and they thought it was a gun. It’s like Michael Brown all over again,” she said

The officer had been off-duty and working an approved second job when he attempted to stop Myers for a “pedestrian check,” said police spokeswoman Leah Freeman.

“Fearing for his safety, the officer returned fire striking the suspect, fatally wounding him,” she said.

A number of angry people gathered near the site close to the Missouri Botanical Garden to protest against the shooting.

“Hey, hey, ho, ho, these killers cops have got to go,” they chanted. “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?”

Brown’s death by a white police officer in Ferguson in August sparked a debate on police use of force.

People in the US are planning a series of protests this weekend to call for an end to racial profiling and police violence.
 
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