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  • Ferguson
    A police car burns on the street after a grand jury returned no indictment in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri November 24, 2014.Reuters
  • Ferguson
    A woman approaches the barricade to confront the police outside the Ferguson Police Department in Ferguson, Missouri, November 24, 2014.Reuters
  • Ferguson
    Protesters demonstrate after the decision by a Missouri grand jury not to indict a white Ferguson police officer in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, in front of the White House in Washington November 24, 2014.Reuters

Almost 30 arrests have been made in relation to the violence that erupted on Monday after the white police officer involved in the Ferguson shooting was let off by the court. 

Post the grand jury's verdict on the Ferguson shooting, in which it did not indict police officer Darren Wilson, violence was reported from across Ferguson, even as protests took place across several parts in the country. 

Ferguson has been on the boil ever since the fatal shooting of 18-year-old black teenager Michael Brown in August by white officer Wilson. 

On Monday night, following the verdict, gunshots were heard in the St Louis suburb, several stores were looted, and several cars were set on fire.

St Louis police reported heavy automatic gunfire late on Monday in the area where Brown was shot, according to Reuters.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said in a press conference that 29 people were arrested in relation with the violence and that a handgun was also seized. 

Belmar said he personally heard more than 150 gunshots as protests turned violent in and around Ferguson, but assured that the police had not fired any shots. 

"What I've seen tonight is probably much worse than the worst night we ever had in August," Belmar said.

He also said that the shooting of University City police officer was unrelated to Ferguson events.

Reports of a police officer being shot emerged earlier, though it was not clear if the incident was related to the Ferguson shooting.

A police officer was shot at 11.30 pm on Monday five miles southwest of the area of rioting in Ferguson, according the St Louis Post Dispatch. A reporter from the paper tweeted about the incident.

President Barack Obama had called for peace following the verdict, citing the Brown family's statement urging supporters not to turn violent. 

"We need to recognise that the situation in Ferguson speaks to the broader problems that we still face as a nation," Obama said. "We need to accept that this decision was the grand jury's to make. There are Americans who agree with it and there are Americans who are deeply disappointed, even angry. It's an understandable reaction," he said in a late night address on Monday. 

"Some of this is the result of racial discrimination in this country and this is tragic because nobody needs good policing more than poor communities with higher crime rates. The good news is we know there are things we can do to help," he said.

Protests elsewhere also turned violent, and one protester has been detained from New York Times Square, BBC reported. 

Posts on Twitter showed images of vandalism in Ferguson and protests across the country. 

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