Saint Louis – A man was arrested during protests Wednesday evening in the Central West End after he drove through the crowd and later waved a gun at protesters.

The incident happened during a day of demonstrations that brought protesters to several sites in and around St. Louis.
In the incident Wednesday night, a protest leader said four protesters were hit. A police spokeswoman said nobody was seriously hurt.
The incident happened around 8 p.m., after about 75 protesters gathered in Maryland Plaza and were beginning to lay down for a “die-in” in the street.
As they did, a man driving a Town and Country minivan drove through the intersection and accelerated through the crowd. One woman was seen crouching on the hood of the minivan as the van continued forward. She fell off as the vehicle rounded a curve.
Protesters chased and then surrounded the minivan, and the driver waved a black handgun at them. At one point, protesters broke out the van’s back window. Police took the man, who appeared to be in his 50s, into custody.

Leah Freeman, police spokeswoman, said it was unclear whether the protesters jumped onto the motorist’s vehicle or if the motorist drove toward the protesters in an attempt to get through the crowd.  (read more)