Missouri Governor announces State of Emergency in Ferguson

FERGUSON, Mo., Aug. 16 (Xinhua/Sun) -- After a night of looting, violence and chaos, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency and a curfew that will begin at midnight and end at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning in Ferguson, Missouri.

This action comes in the wake of the shooting of unarmed 18- year-old Michael Brown seven days ago, and many nights of protests.

On Saturday morning, at least five stores were looted, namely a Family Dollar, a beauty salon, an electronics store, a liquor store and a general market. The looting began one hour after police fired flashbangs and tear gas into a crowd of protesters.

The curfew will be enforced by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the press will be allowed to stay in a safe zone.

Reporters and photographers from Xinhua, CNN, NBC, and Fox News were attacked during the early hours Saturday morning by vandals and looters trying to prevent themselves from being photographed.