3 shot during Ferguson protest; 5 arrested for looting

FERGUSON, Mo. -- Looting, fires and gunfire broke out in Ferguson overnight during protests in response to the death of a black man in police custody in Baltimore.

Ferguson Police Department spokesman Jeff Small says three people were shot during protests that began about 8 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Canfield Drive and West Florissant Avenue.

That same area was the site of protests after the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, by a white Ferguson police officer in August.

Two victims were shot in the neck and one in the leg; all three were in stable condition Wednesday. A 20-year-old man was arrested in connection with the shot that caused the leg wound.

Meanwhile, five people were arrested on suspicion of looting at a Mobil station in nearby Dellwood, Missouri. It was the third time since August it has been targeted by looters.

The protests were more subdued Tuesday evening in Baltimore, where a curfew was imposed after rioting shook the city Monday after the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of a spinal-cord injury while in police custody.

Small said up to 300 people participated in Ferguson protests that lasted until about 3 a.m. Four police cars were damaged when they were pelted by rocks and chunks of asphalt thrown by demonstrators, Small said. No officers were hurt.

Trash cans and a portable toilet were set on fire in the middle of West Florissant, Small said, as well as trash and debris. There were no reports of damage to any businesses in Ferguson.

Tensions have remained high in the St. Louis region since Brown's death and since the St. Louis County grand jury and the U.S. Justice Department declined to prosecute officer Darren Wilson, who resigned from the police force in November.

On Monday, several protesters gathered in north St. Louis after police shot a suspect during a stolen-car investigation. Police chief Sam Dotson said 41-year-old Alfred Graves threatened to kill an officer before firing shots at police in an alleyway. At least three officers returned fire, and Graves was struck in the face, leg and arm. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.