In brief: Black man, 18, fatally shot by St. Louis police in home raid

ST. LOUIS – The police chief on Thursday unapologetically defended the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old who was killed by two white officers in a confrontation that drew protesters and unrest back to the streets.

Protesters pledged to stand firm. Said the director of a group called the Organization for Black Struggle: “We will not go away.”

Mansur Ball-Bey, who police said had a handgun, was shot as officers raided a home in a violence-plagued part of north St. Louis. Within an hour of Wednesday’s shooting, more than 100 people converged on the scene, taunting officers and decrying the use of deadly force.

A vacant building and at least one car were torched, police said. Officers responded with tear gas and arrested at least nine people on charges of impeding traffic and resisting arrest.

St. Louis police Chief Sam Dotson said Thursday the crowd-control tactics were justified because officers were being hit with bottles and bricks and protesters refused to clear out of the roadway.

The latest shooting happened while officers were serving a search warrant. They encountered Ball-Bey and another suspect running from the home, police said.

Ball-Bey turned and pointed a handgun at the officers, who shot him, authorities said. He died at the scene.

Rockets fired into Israel from Syria draw retaliatory fire

JERUSALEM – Militants in Syria fired several rockets into northern Israel on Thursday afternoon, prompting Israeli retaliatory fire, the military said – the first time since the 1973 Mideast war that rockets from Syrian territory have slammed into Israel.

A total of four rockets exploded in an open field in northern Galilee, where sirens warned residents of the incoming projectiles. The rockets sparked small fires but caused no injuries.

The Israeli military said it responded to the attack by targeting 14 Syrian military posts in the Golan Heights, the strategic plateau that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. Despite constant hostility between the two countries, Syria’s leaders have been careful to keep the border mostly quiet since the 1973 war, though Syria’s conflict has renewed tensions in the Golan Heights.

Israel’s military said the rockets were fired by the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad group. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Three shot to death outside Boys and Girls Club

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A gunman shot into a crowd that gathered outside the Rochester Boys and Girls Club after a basketball game, killing three people and wounding four others in what Gov. Andrew Cuomo called “a deplorable act of violence.”

The drive-by shooting happened at about 11:20 p.m. Wednesday as people milled about outside the club, which is across the street from a school. Police said there was no problem at the club before the shooting.

The injured, all men in their 20s, have gunshot wounds that don’t appear to be life-threatening, police said.