Heated protests erupted in St. Louis Wednesday night after an off-duty police officer shot and killed an African American teen, just miles away from the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in August.

St. Louis Police Chief Col. Sam Dotson announced that the 32-year-old white officer, who has not been identified, was working for a private security company when he approached three young men on the street in the Shaw neighborhood of St. Louis. The men ran away, but the officer chased them when he noticed that one might be carrying a gun by the way he was holding his pants, said Dotson.

"As he exited the car, the gentlemen took off running. He was able to follow one of them before he lost him and then found him again as the guy jumped out of some bushes across the street," said Lt. Col. Alfred Adkins, according to Fox News. "The officer approached, they got into a struggle, they ended up into a gangway, at which time the young man pulled a weapon and shots were fired. The officer returned fire and unfortunately the young man was killed."

Chief Dotson added that police recovered a 9 mm handgun at the crime scene and that the teen was "no stranger to law enforcement," reports CNN.

In response to the shooting, which occurred miles from where a police officer killed Michael Brown, community members held a rally late Wednesday, while others damaged police cars.

"Hey, hey, ho, ho, these killer cops have got to go," the crowd chanted near the site. Others shouted "Hands up, don't shoot," in reference to the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.

"At the scene of yet another young man's death," tweeted St. Louis Alderman Antonio French. "This happens too often in our city. It's a crisis that we should all be concerned about."

Protesters also clashed with police.

"That was somebody's baby," screamed one man at an officer. "Think about your own child," said another person in the crowd.

Dotson reported that no businesses were looted or damaged. He also commended officers for showing a "tremendous amount of restraint," USA Today reported.

Meanwhile, relatives identified the victim as Vonderrit Myers Jr. and claim that he had been unarmed during the incident, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

"He was unarmed," said a 23-year-old woman named Teyonna Myers, who claims Myers was her cousin. "He had a sandwich in his hand, and they thought it was a gun. It's like Michael Brown all over again.