Violent protests broke out again in suburban St Louis after another fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white police officer.

The shooting happened at around 11.15pm local time last night at a convenience shop in Berkeley, Missouri, just a few miles from Ferguson where Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, was killed by a white officer in August.

St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the Berkeley shooting victim was black and the officer was white.

Mr Belmar said police were called about a theft and as the officer questioned two men, one pointed a gun at him. The officer fired three shots and one hit the gunman.

A crowd of about 100 people then gathered at the scene and a violent protest broke out.

Two officers were injured, police cars were damaged and a nearby shop was set on fire. Four people were arrested.

The St Louis Post-Dispatch named the victim as Antonio Martin. A woman pictured at the scene in tears was identified by the paper as his mother Toni Martin. She told the newspaper that her son was with his girlfriend at the time of the shooting, who had remained at the scene.

The protesters who gathered in the aftermath of the shooting yelled at officers, and pictures appeared to show some being wrestled to the ground and handcuffed.

Authorities from multiple agencies, some in riot gear, stood among the protesters and it is understood that pepper spray was fired in a bid to disperse the crowd.

Orlando Brown, 36, of nearby St Charles, was among the protesters. He said he did not have all the details about the shooting but said he wondered if it was a case of police aggression.

"I understand police officers have a job and have an obligation to go home to their families at the end of the night," he said. "But do you have to treat every situation with lethal force? It's not a racial issue, or black or white. It's wrong or right."

Mr Brown said he was pepper-sprayed during the protest as police tried to separate him from a friend whose hand he was holding. He said his friend was arrested for failing to disperse.

Police have not yet confirmed whether pepper spray was used or that arrests were made.

Michael Brown's death in Ferguson led to weeks of protests and some looting in the St Louis area, actions that were renewed last month when a grand jury chose not to indict the officer who shot him.

The 34-year-old white police officer involved in the Berkeley shooting was a six-year veteran of the Berkeley Police Department. He is now on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Police released surveillance video from the car park outside the shop.

The two-minute clip shows two young men leaving the store at about the time a police car rolls up. The officer gets out and speaks with them. About a minute-and-a-half later, the video appears to show one of the men raising his arm, though what he is holding is difficult to see because they were several feet from the camera.

Mr Belmar said it was a 9mm handgun.

The other man ran away, and police are searching for him.

Mr Belmar said the 18-year-old victim had a considerable criminal record in the less than two years since he turned 17, with three assault charges, armed robbery, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.

The mayor of Berkeley said the city will thoroughly investigate the fatal shooting - but he insisted comparisons to the Ferguson case are unfair.

Theodore Hoskins said the incidents were very different, noting that surveillance footage shows the Berkeley 18-year-old pointed a gun at the officer who shot him.

He added that in Ferguson the police force is largely white, while the majority of police officers in Berkeley are black. The population of Berkeley is 82% black, he added.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.