A white police officer shot and killed a black teenager in Berkeley, Missouri, on Christmas Eve, in an incident that is likened to the death of Michael Brown.
The incident happened a couple of miles from Ferguson, where the shooting of Michael Brown and the dropping of charges on the white police officer that killed him led to city-wide violent protests.
However, despite the similarities, Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said that the two events should not be connected with one another.
Surveillance video acquired by the St. Louis County Police revealed that 18-year-old Antonio Martin was pointing a gun at a police officer in a parking lot of a gas station in Berkeley. The officer then fatally shot the armed teenager.
The authorities released three separate videos that captured the incident in three different angles.
Tension followed the incident; with scuffles involving the police erupting after people went to the scene of the shooting, which is in an area that is still filled with emotions over the death of Brown back in Aug. 9.
Hoskins, himself a black man, said that the shooting of Martin should not be compared to the death of Brown because, unlike the case in Ferguson, the incident was captured in video, showing that the teenager was armed and endangering the life of the police officer.
"We reviewed the video and it appears that there was a gun pointed at the officer before the officer fired," said Hoskins, adding that the officer did not appear to have initiated the incident.
"I will not tolerate brutality of any policeman on our citizens," Hoskins said to CNN, promising that there will be a thorough investigation on the matter.
Martin, who his mother said was "trying to get his life back together," has been charged with several crimes over the previous 15 months, including armed robbery, assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and stealing.
According to Jon Belmar, the chief of the St. Louis County Police, the officer that shot Martin was a six-year veteran that was in the area to respond to a theft report. He arrived at the parking lot of the gas station and got out of his vehicle to talk to a pair of men.
Eventually, one of the men that the officer was talking to started backing away, then stepped forward with a gun then pointed at the responding officer.
The officer lost his balance and fell, but was then able to fire three shots at the gunman, with one of the shots hitting Martin.
It is believed that Martin did not fire his gun, a 9mm handgun that was recovered at the scene.
The second man that the officer was talking to, however, ran away when the shooting started. The authorities are now searching the second man to bring him in for questioning.
The officer, which the police force did not name, has been placed under administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.
