RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Mo. — A group of protesters gathered outside the Saint Louis Galleria mall in Richmond Heights Sunday night as demonstrations continued around the St. Louis area — and across the country — over the death of George Floyd.
St. Louis County police confirmed their officers responded to the scene, along with several other agencies.
The view from 5 On Your Side’s helicopter showed police lined up blocking one of the main road entrances into the mall’s parking lot. Police also closed a section of Brentwood Boulevard in front of the mall to traffic.
Demonstrators were seen walking down the street. People were gathered in small groups in the area and eventually moved toward the nearby businesses in the strip malls along Brentwood.
At one point, protesters began shooting fireworks into the air. The view from Sky5 showed this prompted police to move toward the protesters as they shot off the fireworks.
Several police vehicles lined the street, many of them parked in front of other businesses along the busy stretch of road.
As of midnight, the protesters seemed to have left the area, but police still had Brentwood Boulevard blocked off.
5 On Your Side has reached out to police, but the county department has not confirmed any further details at this time.
On Aug 31, 2019, Terry Tillman was shot and killed by police in St. Louis County after a chase that started in the Galleria mall.
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This one was one of several demonstrations in the St. Louis area Sunday.
In Ferguson, police fired tear gas canisters toward a crowd of protesters after they said agitators threw objects including fireworks at officers. Sunday’s protests were concentrated outside the Ferguson Police Department for the second night in a row.
Ferguson was under an 8 p.m. curfew Sunday night and was mostly peaceful until around 9 p.m.
Earlier Sunday, protesters also gathered in front of the Madison County Courthouse in Edwardsville, Illinois. Crowds gathered outside of the building, remaining on the sidewalk for several hours.
A protest also formed outside the Richmond Heights Police Department shortly before 6:30 p.m. Protesters blocked the intersection at Dale and Big Bend, which is about a block away from where Big Bend hits Interstate 64. Police officers in SWAT gear responded to the scene.
The protests are in response to the killing of George Floyd Monday night. Derek Chauvin, the officer seen on video pressing his knee onto Floyd's neck for several minutes, was charged with third-degree murder Friday. The other three officers who were on the scene at the time have not been charged. All four were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department Wednesday.
