Hundreds of people turned out in St. Louis Sunday night for an interfaith service where clergy urged a wider call for reforms in response to police violence against minorities, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The noisy but peaceful gathering was part of the third day of a weekend of events called FergusonOctober. The events overlapped with continuing protests that have followed the fatal shootings of Brown and on Wednesday of Vonderrit Myers Jr. by a St. Louis police officer. Today, protest organizers planned to stage several acts of civil disobedience at undisclosed places on what they called “Moral Monday.” Late Sunday, police closed streets in and around the Shaw neighborhood as a crowd that grew to about 500 gathered near the site where Myers was shot. The group included Myers' parents.
Early in the day, 17 protesters were arrested after they massed at a QuikTrip not far from where Myers was shot after police say he opened fire at the officer. About 50 protesters briefly conducted a sit-in, blocking the entrance to the store. St. Louis police in riot gear met the group, and warned protesters they faced arrest if they didn't disperse. “This is an unlawful assembly,” police announced. Protesters refused to budge. “They say 'move back,' we say 'fight back,'” they chanted. Police formed a line, and advanced on protesters. St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson was on the scene, directing officers. Dotson, in a message sent via Twitter, said, “Protestors now throwing rocks at the police. Arrests have been made for continued illegal behavior.”