Protesters blocked a downtown St. Louis interstate, set a fire in the road and broke into trucks in a demonstration over the death of a black Minneapolis man after a white police officer knelt on his neck. One St. Louis protester died early Saturday.
Protesters blocked I-44 for nearly three hours after taking to the streets Friday night, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The protester who died had climbed between two trailers of a Fed Ex truck and was killed when it drove away. Police said they were investigating.
The crowd dispersed after a few gunshots were fired. Police did not report any arrests.
The white Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck was arrested on murder charges Friday.
Floyd's death has sparked protests across the United States and fires and looting in Minneapolis. Tensions between police and minority residents have lingered in the St. Louis area since the 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson.
In Kansas City, Missouri, police used pepper spray on people marching through its Westport bar-and-entertainment district Friday night, The Kansas City Star reports. Police said a window was broken and protesters appeared ready to use a police barricade to do more damage.
On Saturday, managers of the Country Club Plaza, a shopping and entertainment district that has become a gathering place for protesters, announced on social media and their website that the district would close at 4 p.m. Saturday and remain closed Sunday because of planned protests.
