FERGUSON, Mo. - Protesters returned to Ferguson on Wednesday night, a day after looting, fires and gunfire broke out there during demonstrations over the death of a black man who died of spinal injuries after his arrest by Baltimore police.
Several dozen people marched down West Florissant Avenue in the St. Louis suburb on Wednesday night, protesting the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray and calling for police reforms, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
They chanted "No justice; no peace. No racist police," and also referenced the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, by a white Ferguson police officer in August. Brown's death led to numerous, sometimes violent, protests in the same area.
Ferguson Police Department spokesman Jeff Small said earlier Wednesday that three people were shot over the course of protests the night before.
Two victims were shot in the neck, and one in the leg; all three were in stable condition on Wednesday. A 20-year-old man was arrested for the shot that caused the leg wound.
Meanwhile, five people were arrested for looting at a Mobil station in nearby Dellwood. It was the third time since August that it has been targeted by looters.
Small said up to 300 people participated in the 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 a 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.
In Baltimore, a curfew was imposed for a second night after rioting shook the city Monday. Protests over Gray's death also took place in Boston, New York, Indianapolis and Washington, D.C.