Second Missouri police shooting

Police in the city of St. Louis, a short distance from Ferguson, shot and killed a man who was armed and "apparently agitated" according to Police Chief Sam Dotson.

The man was carrying a knife and shouting "kill me now" as he approached a patrol outside a convenience store on August 19.

A tweet from Chief Dotson confirmed: "Officers gave suspect verbal commands. Officers feared for their safety and both officers fired their weapons. Suspect is deceased." Another officer, Captain Ed Kuntz, told reporters at the scene that as far as he knew "it seems reasonable to say it was justifiable," but that an investigation into the shooting had been launched. Kuntz added that the suspect refused to drop the knife as he moved towards the officers.

State police and the National Guard have been deployed in Ferguson, but life shows no signs of returning to normal.

The shape of protests has changed considerably in Ferguson since the August 9 shooting of unarmed African American teenager Michael Brown. What began as peaceful demonstrations and prayers gave way to looting and violence. 56 people were arrested on the night of August 18, charged with failure to disperse.

es/rc (AFP, Reuters)