A U.S. grand jury’s decision not to charge policeman Darren Wilson for the August 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown at the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, sparked a new round of protests in the region. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and the riots were reminiscent of those in the early days following the young man’s death.

A White House spokesman said that those who wished to protest against the jury’s decision should “do so peacefully”, however some of the riots were violent. Racial tension escalated as the African American community called on the white policeman to be charged with murder.

In an official statement, President Barack Obama said that “there’s never an excuse for violence.”

Witnesses in the region said that Mr. Brown had his hands up to surrender when he was killed, however the police said that there was a struggle before the shooting. A photo was released showing an injury sustained following the officer’s altercation with the young man. Protestors had gathered outside the barricades set up outside the courthouse and the Ferguson police department anticipating the decision by chanting slogans, such as “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!” Shops in the region had also boarded up their windows.

Michael Brown Sr. posted a video online stating that “hurting others or destroying property is not the answer.” Following the court’s decision, the family called for four-and-a-half minutes of silence to symbolize the four-and-a-half hours that the dead man’s body had lay in the street.

Several of the protestors who took to the streets in opposition to the grand jury’s decision not to indict the police officer blocked a major road junchtion in Los Angeles.

In more violent protests, a police car was set on fire, stores were looted with their window’s smashed. Gunfire could be heard.

As a precautionary measure, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airplanes to be diverted from the airport and out of the airspace over Ferguson.