It's Ferguson, Missouri, all over again. Only that this one happened in the bigger city, St. Louis, of which Ferguson is part.

A white off-duty officer who was in uniform and going to his secondary job as a security guard does a "pedestrian check" on four men walking not far from the Missouri Botanical Garden, and when the four take off, the officer gives chase. Minutes later, an 18-year-old black teenager, later identified as Vonderrick Myers Jr., lay dead, shot by the officer.

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Citizens are now marching near the site of the shooting, reliving Ferguson and the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown almost two months ago, and the protests that followed night after. To citizens of St. Louis, this may mean many more sleepless nights ahead.

This time, police say the black man was armed and actually shot at the officer, who returned fire. But a relative of the slain 18-year-old says he was just holding a sandwich, not a gun.

The fatal shooting occurred at approximately 7:30 p.m. in the Shaw neighbourhood, specifically in the 4100 block. Police said the 32-year-old officer, then off-duty and proceeding to a secondary job as a security officer, conducted a "pedestrian stop" but the four men ran away. The officer pursued, and at one point, the black man turned and shot at the officer but missed. At least that's what the police is saying.

Reports later said Myers was hit 18 times.

Speaking to reporters after 1 a.m., St. Louis police chief Sam Dotson said Myers fired three times at the officer. Dotson said the teenager attempted to fire more, but the gun jammed.

Dotson said police recovered a gun at the scene, and two sets of shell casings. The officer was not hurt.

Several people were in the area when the shooting occurred. People approached the officer as he stood over the wounded teenager, but the officer reportedly pointed his weapon at them to stop their approach.

In minutes, the area started filling with people.

Chief Dotson said no video was available of the incident, but they are now searching for possible CCTV cameras in the area.

Rita Myers, the black teenager's mother, fainted when she arrived and saw her son's body, and had to be taken away by paramedics.

Tagsst. louis, Ferguson, white officer