Ferguson's State of Emergency Extended

The state of emergency was called Monday, after a police officer shot and critically injured another black teenager Sunday night.

Officials extended a state of emergency in Ferguson, Missouri Thursday for an extra 24 hours, after citizens began taking to the street once again for the anniversary of the death of Michael Brown – a black, unarmed teenager who was killed by white police officer Darren Wilson last year.

County Executive Steve Stenger called for the extension, saying it will now last until at least Friday.

This is the second time this week the county executive has drawn-out the state of emergency after calling for a 24 hour extension Wednesday, even though the region has remained in a relative state of calm over the past few days.

According to a statement released by Stenger Wednesday, the tranquility in the city was an indication that the state of emergency was working and should therefore be extended.

Stenger originally declared the state of emergency Monday in order to stop potential retaliatory protests after another white police officer shot and critically injured black 18 year old Tyrone Harris in an exchange of gunfire Sunday night.

The shooting interrupted what had been a day of peaceful protests, as people took to the streets to commemorate Brown and demand justice for his killing on Aug. 9, 2014.

Brown's death last year – as well as the court's conclusion that Wilson acted legally – set off a wave of protests across the nation over police killings of minorities, sparking the movement Black Lives Matter and what many are calling a new civil rights movement.

Protests in Ferguson have continued over the past couple of nights, but have calmed down significantly, with smaller crowds and no confrontations or arrests.