Crowds Gathering For Another Night Of Protests In Ferguson Despite Calls For Calm

Update 9:30 p.m.: Police fired tear gas at protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, following reports of shots fired.

Update 9:15 p.m.: PzFeed reports via Twitter shots fired and Molotov cocktails thrown at police in Ferguson, Missouri, just three hours before a curfew was to kick in for a second night.

Original post:

Following a day of pleas from religious leaders to stem the violence, thousands of people gathered just before nightfall Sunday on West Flourissant Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri, for a 10th night since unarmed teen Michael Brown was gunned down by police. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the mood was festive just hours before a curfew was to go into effect at midnight for a second night.

"People can assemble and march all they want to," St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley told a reporter. "This is America, you know what I mean?"

Earlier in the day the New York Times reported Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson apologized at Greater Grace Church for Brown's Aug. 9 shooting, saying, “My heart goes out to you, and I say that I’m sorry. I wear this uniform, and I should stand up here and say that I’m sorry.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton urged demonstrators to vote, not loot, at a rally in Ferguson hosted by Brown's family, Sharpton's National Action Network and the National Bar Association, the Los Angeles Times reported. Sharpton told the crowd there's a "difference between an activist and a thug." He also criticized the release of a robbery report that named Brown as a suspect and a convenience store surveillance video that appeared to show him stealing cigars and menacing the clerk just before his confrontation with Officer Darren Wilson.

Brown's uncle Benjamin Crump characterized Brown's shooting as an execution, USA Today reported.

Early Sunday, one person was shot and seven were arrested after the curfew went into effect. Johnson said police used smoke bombs and tear gas to disperse protesters.