Teenager Antonio Martin shot dead by police in Missouri suburb near Ferguson

UNITED States police have released footage of the moment a black teenager allegedly pulled his gun on authorities, as protesters detonated explosives at the scene

St Louis police confirmed an officer shot dead an 18-year-old man, Antonio Martin, after he allegedly pointed a handgun at an officer outside a petrol station about 11.15pm Tuesday local time.

The shooting happened in Berkeley, a town bordering Ferguson, Missouri, where unarmed black teen Michael Brown was shot dead by a white police officer in August, sparking riots.

Evidence ... Officers photograph a gun at the scene of the shooting. Picture: Supplied Source: AP

Martin’s mother, Toni Martin-Green, was visibly distraught at the scene and said her son was running when he was shot and killed.

“His girlfriend told me that the police was messing with them,” Martin said on CNN.

“When he was trying to get up and run, they started shooting him. They won’t tell me nothing. They won’t even let me see my baby.”

Authorities said they recovered a handgun at the scene which had been “defaced” (i.e. the serial number was removed) and an investigation into the shooting was under way.

Belmar said the officer, a 34-year-old white man with six years experience on the force, was not wearing his body camera and left it in the car.

Authorities don’t know if that was a deliberate choice. He has been placed on administrative leave.

“He will carry the weight of this for the rest of his life, certainly for the rest of his career,” Belmar said of the officer. “So there are no winners here.”

Authorities said Martin had a record of assault and firearm offences.

Soon after the incident, a 300-strong crowd gathered, with demonstrators lobbing bricks and three explosive devices, which officials said were likely fireworks. Police responded with pepper spray.

A small group was seen looting a shop close to the scene of the shooting. At least two officers were injured and are in hospital after the clashes.

Protesters claim the shooting was racially-motivated and have demanded justice.

However Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins claims the shooting was not race-based.

“We are different from the City of Ferguson,” he said during a press conference on Wednesday local time. “Jumping to conclusions without investigating is not acceptable.”

‘We’re different’ ... Mayor Theodore Hoskins said the Berkeley shooting is nothing like Ferguson. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

The Democratic goveor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, released a very concise statement on the shooting: “The events in Berkeley are a reminder that law enforcement officers have a difficult, and often dangerous, job in protecting themselves and law-abiding citizens.”

The shooting is the latest in several such incidents that led to nationwide protests into how police in the US interact with the country’s black community.

In August, black teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by white officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson.

Another black man, Eric Gaer, died after being choked by New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo after he arrested on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island in July.

Two separate grand juries declined to indict the officers in either case, sparking weeks of sometimes violent protests in cities across the United States.

Already tense racial relations were further frayed over the weekend fatal shootings of two officers in Brooklyn, by an apparently emotionally disturbed man whose online postings suggested he was motivated by a desire for revenge over the recent police killings.