A tentative calm prevailed in the streets of Ferguson, Mo., for a third night Friday, even as a smaller group of protesters and police continued to hold their respective grounds, the Associated Press reports.
The fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown on Aug. 9 by Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson, who is white, ignited days of angry protests, prompting law enforcement officers to flood the streets. The two sides clashed for nearly two weeks.
The shift in mood comes after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) on Thursday began withdrawing the Missouri National Guard from Ferguson and a pivotal visit to the city Wednesday by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., who met with the family of the slain 18-year-old.
Still, some residents fear tensions could rise again if a grand jury, which began hearing evidence in the case this week, does not indict the officer.
“This officer has to be indicted,” Larry Loveless, 29, a resident, told the AP on Friday as he stopped at the memorial for Brown, which was created at the site of the shooting. “I'd hate to see what happens if he isn't. The rioting, the looting, man …”
St. Louis County prosecutors began presenting evidence in the Brown case in spite of concerns in the community about Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch’s deep family ties to law enforcement, the AP writes.
Read more at ABC News.