Antonio Martin Shooting: Shots Fired At Berkeley Protest Site, 'Die-In' On Christmas Eve, At Least 3 Detained

At least three protesters were detained in Berkeley, Missouri, on Wednesday night, while reports surfaced of shots being fired at the scene where an armed black teen was fatally shot by a white police officer late on Tuesday. Several protesters reportedly staged a “die-in” on Christmas Eve while police in riot gear monitored the situation in the St. Louis suburb.

A small group of protesters also reportedly shut down Interstate 170, but there were no reports of arrests from the area. Some protesters blocked Airport Road in Berkeley, forcing police to use pepper spray to disperse the crowd. There were reports of one woman being among those detained after a group vandalized a beauty salon in the area. According to reports, at least two businesses had their windows broken during the protests. By late Wednesday, the streets of Berkeley were mostly cleared, while local police patrolled the area.

The St. Louis suburb witnessed unrest after the shooting death of Antonio Martin by a police officer who was responding to reports of theft. Martin's mother and stepfather carried out a candlelight vigil at the parking lot in front of the Mobil gas station where he was killed. The incident took place just 2 miles northwest of Ferguson, where another black teen, Michael Brown, was fatally shot by white police officer Darren Wilson in August.

Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said, during a press conference Wednesday, that Martin's shooting could not be compared to Brown’s or to the chokehold death of Eric Garner in New York in July. These deaths triggered widespread protests across the United States over the use of excessive force by law enforcement while dealing with black people.

"Everybody don't die the same," Hoskins told reporters. "Some people die because the policeman initiated. Some people die because they initiated it. And at this point, our review indicates that the police did not initiate this, like Ferguson."

Some protesters in Berkeley reportedly chanted “I can’t breathe,” which were Garner's last words before he died from a chokehold grip by NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a press conference Wednesday that Martin was “known to law enforcement” and had a record of assault and firearms offenses, adding that he was armed with a 9mm handgun with a defaced serial number when the officer shot him.

The St. Louis County police department said in a statement that the officer fired the shots at Martin as he feared for his life. The department also released three videos of the shooting that led to Martin's death.