Various witnesses have said that a police office in Ferguson shot and killed a black teenager in the middle of the street. The Missouri town has since then been on an uproar as police begin to investigate why the teenager was shot.

Michael Brown was heading to his grandmother's house on Saturday when a Ferguson Police Department officer attempted to detain him. The unarmed teenager was subsequently shot by the officer, according to The Associated Press.

Speaking with the news agency and ABC News, Desiree Harris explained how she saw her grandson walking towards her home, but as soon as she arrived she heard a commotion and stepped outside to find her grandson dead on the street. Soon after the incident, Ferguson Police asked the St. Louis County Police Department's Bureau of Criminal Investigations to handle the investigation.

However, the shooting of the 18-year-old has sparked unrest and anger in the predominantly black community, according to News 4 KMOV. The teenager was unarmed and raising his hands when he was shot, according to Dorian Johnson who spoke with the news station.

"He (the officer) shot again, and once my friend felt that shot, he turned around and put his hands in the air," said Johnson, who was walking alongside Brown. "He started to get down, and the officer still approached with his weapon drawn and fired several more shots."

Another witness, Piaget Crenshaw, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "She saw the teen, hands in the air, attempt to flee." She then said he was shot multiple times. The community and Brown's family demand answers from the police as to why the teenager was shot. He had graduated from Normandy High School the past spring and would have attended his first college classes on Monday, reported the Post-Dispatch.

A large crowd gathered soon after the incident, with many people yelling profanities at police, the newspaper reports, and police responded in kind, arriving with reinforcements, a SWAT car and police dogs. Later in the night, in a candlelight vigil, people chanted, "We are Michael Brown!" and "No Justice! No Peace!"

Brian Schellman, the St. Louis County police spokesman, said there would be a "lengthy investigation," according to the Post-Dispatch. It is also reported that the officer involved has been put in paid administrative leave.

In a press conference on Sunday, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said, "The genesis of this was a physical confrontation." He explained that Brown pushed the officer into the car, physically assaulted him and then attempted to grab his gun. He was the shot 35 feet away from the squad car, according to CNN.