US: Shots fired as Ferguson marks one year since the police killing of Michael Brown

Michael Brown Sr, centre, leads a march from the location where his son Michael was shot

Two people were struck by gunfire in the midst of a late-night confrontation on Sunday between riot police and protesters, police said, after a day of peaceful events in Ferguson, Missouri, commemorating the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer one year ago.

unmarked cars with a bullet hole in the windscreen

Gunshots erupted as police were seeking to disperse a crowd of demonstrators who began blocking traffic and smashing windows along a street that was a flashpoint of last year's unrest following the slaying of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

The condition of the two people shot was not immediately known, police said. 

Anniversary commemorations for Brown had begun with a quiet march through the St. Louis suburb following a moment of silence for the teenager, whose slaying on Aug. 9, 2014, ignited months of demonstrations and a national debate on race and justice.

The scene changed dramatically after dark with dozens of protesters blocking traffic and smashing store windows along West Florissant Avenue, which bore the brunt of last summer's rioting, chanting "Shut it down" in the midst of a severe thunderstorm. 

A crowd prays at the spot where Michael Brown was fatally shot in Ferguson

A phalanx of helmeted police wearing body armor and carrying shields moved in. Protesters briefly fell away before regrouping to confront the line of officers, who ordered them to disperse.

The protesters, locking arms and edging closer to the police cordon, began throwing water bottles and shouting, "We are ready for war!" Both sides held their ground, and police did not move immediately to make any arrests as clergy members and activists circulated between the two sides appealing for calm. 

Source: +TheTelegraph