Violence erupts after Ferguson shooting ruling

Violence erupted in the US city of Ferguson after the announcement that police officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted for shooting to death unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Two police cars were set on fire Monday night and gunshots rang throughout the night as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.

Chaos reigned in the streets with shop windows smashed, and what sounded like live ammunition and tear-gas rounds, Xinhua reported.

Riot police tried twice to secure the site of the two burning police cars but failed to eliminate all stragglers.

Police detained two men, a white and a black, both wearing masks, telling them they were under arrest for arson.

Police were seen interrupting media interviews around the site, pushing and shoving journalists who did not move fast enough to escape their lines.

Protesters in front of the police station were angry but generally peaceful, and there were no mass displays of violence, but there were incidents where protesters threw Molotov cocktails at police and media.

Michael, one of the protesters, told Xinhua that the "verdict wasn't fair... he (Michael Brown) was unarmed".

The protests are expected to continue throughout the week and protesters have a scheduled protest rally in a white neighbourhood Tuesday at 7 a.m.