Following another night of riots in the city of Ferguson, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has ordered the deployment of the National Guard to the area.
"Given these deliberate, coordinated and intensifying violent attacks on lives and property in Ferguson, I am directing the highly capable men and women of the Missouri National Guard to assist Colonel Ron Replogle and the Unified Command in restoring peace and order to this community,” the governor said on Monday in a statement on his official website.
The clashes between police and protesters flared again over the weekend following the release of the name of the white officer -- Darren Wilson -- who shot unarmed 18-year-old black man Michael Brown on August 9, igniting racial tensions in the predominantly black city of Ferguson.
"Tonight, a day of hope, prayers, and peaceful protests was marred by the violent criminal acts of an organized and growing number of individuals, many from outside the community and state, whose actions are putting the residents and businesses of Ferguson at risk," the statement said.
Despite curfew in Ferguson being extended to a second day on Sunday, the night proved to be as chaotic as the previous ones, according to local reports.
Moreover, the autopsy of the killed teenager revealed Sunday that he had been shot at least six times by police officer Darren Wilson.
Indeed, the New York Times reported on Sunday that Michael Brown, who was unarmed, was shot two times in the head and four times in the right arm.
According to Dr. Michael M. Baden, the former chief medical examiner for the City of New York, one of the bullets entered the top of Brown's skull, causing fatal injury.
The autopsy report came on the eight day of turmoil in Ferguson, which at certain moments has resembled a war-zone, prompting media commentators and observers throughout the United States to question the use of military-like equipment by local police.
On Saturday night, protesters had also broken the curfew. SWAT forces detained at least seven people and a man was wounded on Florissant Street at Ferguson town center during the night.
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