FBI Opens Civil Rights Case In Mike Brown Shooting

Protestors march along Florissant Road in downtown Ferguson, Mo. Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. The group marched along the closed street, rallying in front of the town’s police headquarters to protest the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson police officers on Saturday night. (AP Photo/Sid Hastings)

The FBI is investigating possible civil rights violations after a suburban St. Louis police officer fatally shot an unarmed teenager.

Cheryl Mimura, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s St. Louis field office, says the agency opened an investigation Monday into possible civil rights violations arising from the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Police say Brown was shot multiple times Saturday in a scuffle with an officer in Ferguson.

Mimura says the FBI is monitoring the case and working with St. Louis County police.

A candlelight vigil for Brown was held Sunday, and tensions erupted later that night. Nearly three dozen people were arrested after a crowd looted and burned stores, vandalized vehicles and taunted officers.

Mimura noted that the FBI would be investigating such a shooting regardless of the public attention.

Protester Blocking Ferguson In Wake Of The Shooting

Bigup Newsone