Those who rely on Hartford's Salvation Army Marshall House fought for the shelter at a city council meeting Monday night, imploring officials to find the funds that were dropped from next year's budget.

Over the past few years, the city of Hartford has helped to prop up the shelter, which is not city owned or operated. But the budget approved for 2014-2015 cut the $100,000 that was initially proposed.

Shelter officials say this is news to them, so they – and many who depend on their services – came out to the city council public hearing to speak up.

"The shelter means a lot to me, because if it wasn't for them, I would have nowhere else to go," said Tieara Latimer, who is seven months pregnant and is being turned away from other shelters as her due date draws near.

Lynn Naughton, director of operations for hte Salvation Army Marshall House, said it's the only shelter in Hartford that "deals with single men with their children."

"We keep families intact," she explained.

Without financial assistance from the city, the shelter will only be able to support about half the families who stay there, and will need to cut programs that help homeless adults get back on their feet.

"The cost is not high, but the benefit is huge," said Hartford City Councilmember Larry Deutsch, who said he, too, just learned of the issue, despite having approved next year's budget alongside his fellow councilmembers.

"It could be that we should have known and it got past us, and we have to admit that," Deutsch explained.

Hartford officials said the issue could come up again in the next fiscal year. The city council and other city lawmakers will have to work together if they plan to make a change.

A homeowner in Fairfield is out $17,000 after police said a contractor took her money, but never did the work.

John Foristall, of Fairfield, was supposed to be doing carpentry and plumbing work on a Fairfield home and police have been investigating him since March.

"During the course of several months, very little of the work was ever completed and he basically disappeared with the money," Deputy Chief Chris Lyddy said.

The homeowner paid the money upfront last November, Lyddy said, but police discovered that Foristall was not a registered contractor.

"His license had expired," Lyddy said.

Police also said several items were missing from that home during the time of the work, including a $2,000 fur coat, but investigators couldn't link the missing items to Foristall.

"You have to be careful," Lyddy said. "Any time you let somebody in your home, you really have to go the extra step to find out everything you can about these people."

A woman who answered the door at Foristall's home on Tahmore Drive said she didn't know when he'd be back, referred NBC Connecticut his attorney and called the charge "bogus."

Foristall's attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

The Better Business Bureau urges consumers to do their homework before employing any contractor; recommends checking a contractor's license, insurance and qualifications; getting recent references; putting only the smallest deposit down and never paying cash

"I really feel bad for the consumer because they got robbed effectively," said Tim Simons, of Westport, who is having a toilet installed on Tuesday in his Westport home. He said he ensured he was hiring someone reputable.

"I think it's absolutely essential," Simons said. "You gotta establish some kind of reference and usually that's the personal relationship otherwise you don't know who you're dealing with."

Foristall is out on bond and is due in court later this week.

A 20-year-old man fell to his death in Woodbridge while hiking in the West Rock woods Sunday night, according to police.

Police received the report of a missing hiker around 11 p.m. Sunday. Woodbridge police and fire officials searched the area Sunday alongside state police and authorities from Seymour and Hamden.

There they found the body of Woodbridge resident Sam Shekman, who apparently fell from a cliff and onto a rocky area below. according to police.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said his death appears to be accidental.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington.

New Britain Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 19-year old man on Roberts Street on Monday night.

Police received several calls at 10:49 p.m. reporting possible gunshots in the area of 62 Roberts Street and a person lying in the street.

When police responded, they found a 19-year-old New Britain man suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.  

He was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.   

Police are notifying the victim’s family and have not released his name.

The New Britain Police Department and the New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office are investigating and ask that anyone with information call Sergeant Adam Rembisz at 860-826-3132.  

You can leave anonymous tips on the Community Tip Line at (860) 826-3199 or online at newbritainpolice.org.  

A Waterbury man is in the hospital and is facing pending criminal charges after barricading himself in his home armed with a weapon, according to police.

Waterbury police responded to 11 Greenbow Street at about 7 p.m. on Monday to investigate reports of an "armed suicidal male" barricaded in his home, according to police.

The Emergency Response and Crisis Negotiations teams also responded. Police took the man into custody at 11:50 p.m. and transported him to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.

No one was injured.

Police said that the man, who has not been publicly identified, will face criminal charges. The department has not specified what the charges will be.

Police did not release further details on the incident. More information will be provided when it becomes available.

Willimantic police arrested three people accused of throwing a 75-year-old man to the ground and robbing him in a package store parking lot.

Willimantic residents Gwendolyn Little, 49, Noel Mendez, 52, and Kim Dorsett, 51, face assault and robbery charges after the incident.

Police responded to reports of a robbery at Elms Package Store at 91 Valley Street at about 2:45 p.m. on Monday. Officers located the 75-year-old victim who told them that two men and a woman threw him down and "stole a large sum of money from him," police said in a news release.

Police found a female suspect matching his description a quarter of a mile away on Valley Street and police took her into custody. Two other suspects were taken into custody soon after that without incident, police said.

The victim suffered minor injuries but refused medical attention, police said.

Police charged all three suspects with assault on an elderly person, second-degree robbery,  second-degree larceny and breach of peace.

They are being held in police custody on $200,000 cash/surety bonds and are due in court on Tuesday.

Little and Mendez live together.

A 32-year-old man was shot in the left outside the firehouse on Blue Hills Avenue in Hartford this morning and police are investigating.

He was taken to St. Francis Hospital and no information was immediately available on his condition. 

Police said they found a vehicle involved nearby, but have not said how the car is involved.

Waterbury Police are looking for the person who shot a 49-year-old man to death on Wood Street near the intersection of Walnut Street.

Police responded after receiving a call reporting a shooting that happened at about 10 p.m. When they arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound to the head.

He was rushed to St. Mary's Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

Police still have not identified the man shot, but said he's from the area. The shooter is still on the loose, police said. Police have not publicly identified a suspect.

Officers have been interviewing neighbors, hoping to speak to any witnesses who could help people find the shooter.

Wood Street was still blocked off Tuesday morning as detectives canvassed the area for clues, but the police tape has since been taken down.

Police continue to investigate.

Anyone with information is asked to call Waterbury Police. The phone number for the department's  crime stoppers line is 203-574-6911.

A Waterbury uncle has been charged with murder after police said he stabbed and killed his 1-year-old niece in the stomach at a home on Park Street in Bristol on Monday evening as he was babysitting her.

Arthur Hapgood, 36, of Waterbury, has been charged with the murder of Zaniyah Calloway.

Police said Hapgood stabbed Zaniyah with a knife and she suffered a deep gash to her mid-section. An 11-year-old was also home in the care of someone else at the time of the stabbing.

Nearly a dozen police cruisers swarmed the intersection of Park and Tulip streets at 7:18 p.m., responding to a 911 call reporting that a baby was injured during a disturbance at 211 Park Street. When police arrived, a resident ran to them carrying a small child.

It's unclear who called 911.

More officers responding to the home learned that the suspect was still in the home. Hapgood met police on the porch and was cooperative when they took him into custody, police said. He was naked at the time of the arrest, police said.

Officers provided medical attention to Zaniyah at the scene, then Bristol EMS took her to Bristol Hospital. A LifeStar medical helicopter then airlifted the baby from there to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, where she was treated for life-threatening injuries and ultimately died, according to police.

Hapgood had wounds that appeared to be self-inflicted, but not necessarily intentional, according to police, and might have fallen. He was taken to Bristol Hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to police. The injuries were self-inflicted. After he was released from the hospital, he was transported to the Bristol Police Department and held in custody on a $1.5 million bond.

Hapgood was charged with murder with special circumstances, first-degree reckless endangerment and risk of injury to a minor.

Police said the last two charges were filed because an 11-year-old was home during the stabbing, but was not injured. Another family member was watching that child, police said.

Neighbors said they heard sirens and a scream as the situation was unfolding.

"From the child, we heard lots of screaming and then a few adults or teenagers screaming get somebody on the ambulance, get somebody on the phone," Olivia Mattei, a neighbor, said. "They were just really worried about what was going to happen to the child.

Police have not released details on the sequence of events that led to the fatal stabbing of the baby.

Investigators took photographs of the crime scene and interviewed neighbors.

“We’ll be questioning all of the witnesses, people in the neighborhood and see if we can find the reason why,” Bristol police Lt. Kevin Morrell. "We may never know. That’s what we’ll be working on now."

Hapgood is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Police initially said the child was a boy but issued a correction at a media briefing around 10 p.m. Monday.

Is the Common Core on its way in — or out?

Proponents and opponents are so sharply divided that an assessment of the standards’ prospects depends on whom you ask.

The national academic standards have sparked such vehement disputes that it might seem many states have already pulled out. Republican politicians even if they once supported the standards now often insist that they are an unwelcome intrusion in local matters.

In fact, only a handful of states have actually moved away from the Common Core. Indiana withdrew and replaced it with its own standards, North and South Carolina and Missouri are reviewing it but using it in the meantime and only Oklahoma has returned to its previous standards while developing alternatives.

As the new school year begins, most teachers across the country are implementing the Common Core, says Michael Brickman, the national policy director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

A think tank focusing on education policy, the institute supports the standards, meant to ensure that students meet minimum benchmarks regardless of where they go to school. By its score, 42 states still have the Common Core in effect (It counts Indiana as still on a board). So despite efforts by tea party groups and other conservatives, it argues, the pro-Common Core side is still leading.

Not for long, predicts Emmett McGroarty at the American Principles Project, a group that created the initiative, "Fight Common Core." The standards are on their way out, he said.

They increasingly are being exposed as a way to push an inferior curriculum and parents are rebelling, he said. Opponents are at the end of the first stage of their battle, to make politicians aware of just how bad they believe the standards are. Next up is a new discussion about what children should be learning and who should be responsible, he said.

“Unfortunately, now the Common Core has become a political football, and the focus really has shifted, I think, from the substance of what’s contained in the Common Core and the rationale for the strategy of having common, high standards across the country to a question of who can garner the most political points from victory in this battle,” said Paul Reville, a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

GROWING DISAGREEMENTS

The standards were developed with little controversy beginning in 2009 by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association’s Center of Best Practices, as goals for what students should learn in mathematics and English language literacy in the kindergarten through 12th grade. The aim was to ensure that students already lagging behind international counterparts graduate from high school ready for college and careers.

At first the standards had bipartisan support -- and still have the backing of such disparate politicians as former Florida governor and possible Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush and President Barack Obama. Only four states rejected them — Alaska, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia — while Minnesota accepted only the English language portion of the standards, not the math.

Since then, the standards have become a flashpoint both on the right and the left. Conservatives argue that they represent federal overreach into education, liberals object to more high-stake testing, integral to the Common Core, and both question the corporate profits from the tests.

Jane Maisel, a former New York City teacher who is part of a movement against such testing, said standards alone are not a problem.

But, said Maisel, a member of a group called Change the Stakes, “The Common Core is a creature, it is an invention of people who are interested in this quantification of everything in the school system. There is no such thing as a Common Core separate from the high stakes tests that are geared to it. It has no independent existence.”

A mother who belongs to the group, Janine Sopp of Brooklyn, said she was worried about the over-use of tests and their inappropriate application to punish teachers and schools.

"We've spent a huge amount of money that has actually come out of schools in order to pay for this," she said. "What we see in our schools is incredible budget cuts and a tremendous amount of inequality among schools."

Parents and teachers are in favor of high standards, she said, but do not want to see another failure like No Child Left Behind, the initiative under President George W. Bush.

"So who's to say this is not setting us up for another decade of failure," she said.

Groups opposing the Common Core have sprung up across the country from Arkansas to Utah, and both of the country’s national teachers unions have qualified their initial support. The unions object to how the standards are being put into practice and how teachers are being evaluated against a change in the classroom before they have had time to prepare. Seventy bills have been introduced that would slow or halt the standards’ implementation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But will the very vocal opposition make much difference in the end?

“If you think about the flurry of activity out there and what folks who have been opposing the standards would argue, that they’ve been making a lot of inroads, I would actually argue not much has changed,” said Jennifer Vranek, a founding partner of the Education First consulting firm and a supporter of the standards. “Forty some states still want their students to graduate from high school ready for college and careers."

RETHINKING THE STANDARDS

In March, Indiana became the first state to formally withdraw from the Common Core and to substitute local standards in its place.

“I believe our students are best served when decisions about education are made at the state and local level,” Republican Gov. Mike Pence said at the time.

Critics say that many of the new standards were taken directly from the Common Core and contend that the state did little more than tweak the results as other states have done.

North and South Carolina and Missouri are reviewing their standards with the aim of writing new local ones, but will continue to follow the Common Core in the meantime.

Only Oklahoma will revert to its earlier standards while it replaces the Common Core, which Republican Gov. Mary Fallon said had been tainted by federal overreach.

"What should have been a bipartisan policy is now widely regarded as the president's plan to establish federal control of curricula, testing and teaching strategies," she said in June.

Chris Minnich, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, said that as a result Oklahoma had lowered its standards.

“But they are in the process of rewriting their standards, so that’s a positive, and we’re hopeful that Oklahoma will get to a higher set of standards," he said.

A NEW FRONT OVER TESTING

In other states, the battle continues.

Louisiana's Gov. Bobby Jindal is in the middle of a very public dispute with the state’s education officials over whether to keep the standards. Jindal, another Republican who might run for president in 2016, had supported the Common Core when his state adopted it in 2010 but now says he is alarmed by the loss of local control.

In Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker has urged the state legislature to overturn the standards when it returns in January.

• Look: Can You Answer These Common Core Test Questions?

Elsewhere a front has opened on the tests being designed to measure students progress in the Common Core. Two testing consortiums, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, formed, but some states have since pulled out or put their participation on hold. Florida for example has selected its own test.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said that the standards looked good on paper but were not working well in early childhood and special education. The debate should be focused not on whether the federal government was overstepping its bounds but on the Common Core's imperfect implementation. Testing should be not be linked to its implementation

Vranek said she thought the Common Core standards would remain a blueprint for many states even as they get caught up in the 2016 presidential elections.

“Most of the opposition both from the left and the right is highly politically motivated,” she said.

Legislatures in many states will not be in session again until January, and that is when the next round of opposition will bubble up, McGroarty said.

"It really gets back to that dynamic of a governor or a speaker being confronted by a mom, who just takes them to school on the Common Core and why it's bad," he said. "When that happens, I think legislators and governors who are Common Core proponents, when they realize how bad this is, they tend to flip to the other side."
 

The chokehold death of 43-year-old Eric Garner will head to a grand jury, Staten Island's chief prosecutor said Tuesday.

District Attorney Daniel Donovan said in a statement that his office has reviewed the recent findings of the medical examiner, which determined Garner died of neck compression from a chokehold and labeled his death a homicide, and decided that "it is appropriate to present evidence regarding circumstances of his death to a Richmond County Grand Jury."

Donovan said the court granted his application to impanel a grand jury on Monday, and he plans to begin presenting evidence in the Garner case in September. He declined to say what criminal charges the grand jury might consider, or against whom any charges might be filed.

The case has garnered national attention and led to cries for the arrests of the officers who were trying to cuff Garner in Tompkinsville July 17 for selling untaxed cigarettes.

"I assure the public that I am committed to conducting a fair, thorough, and responsible investigation into Mr. Garner's death, and that I will go wherever the evidence takes me, without fear or favor," Donovan said in a statement.

Shortly after Garner died, one officer was stripped of his gun and badge pending an internal NYPD investigation and another was placed on desk duty. Two paramedics and two EMTs were suspended without pay after allegedly failing to provide CPR in a timely manner.

An attorney for Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who lost his badge after he was seen in amateur cellphone video allegedly putting Garner in a chokehold, said the Staten Island district attorney's office notified him of the grand jury. Lawyer Stuart London said he hadn't decided if his client would testify if called to the stand.

"I haven't made any decision," London said. "It is premature to say. It is something I weigh heavily and carefully." 

The NYPD said in a statement it would "continue to cooperate" with the district attorney's office, and the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association said the union was encouraged the process was moving forward.

"We are confident that a fair and impartial grand jury that is allowed to conduct its deliberations based on facts and not emotion or political considerations will see that justice is served," Pat Lynch said in a statement.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been a vocal critic of police in the case, said he and the Garner family would continue to push for a federal investigation into Garner's death. Sharpton said he, Garner's family and their attorneys would meet with a U.S. attorney Thursday to discuss the matter.

In addition to running the National Action Network, Sharpton is a talk show host on MSNBC, which is owned by WNBC's parent company, NBCUniversal.

In an exclusive interview with NBC 4 New York last week, Donovan said he had no intention of handing the case over. He said he assigned eight assistant district attorneys and 10 non-NYPD detectives to investigate the case -- the greatest amount of resources allocated to one case in his tenure. 

“In my 11 years in office, this is the biggest allocation of resources I’ve ever used in any matter,” Donovan said.

The medical examiner’s office ruled Garner’s death a homicide, saying neck compression from a chokehold killed him. Asthma, heart disease and obesity all contributed to the 43-year-old’s death, the medical examiner determined.

Donovan also said that members of the NYPD, who’ve been accused of condoning the apparent chokehold, are entitled to the truth, not opinion.

“The police department deserves to be treated fairly as well,” he said. “They deserve answers, too.” 

People gathered Tuesday afternoon at Yale University in New Haven for a protest and march in support of Ferguson, Missouri, the St. Louis suburb where Michael Brown was shot and killed by police on Aug. 9.

Protesters, carrying signs with sayings such as "Hands Up, Don't Shoot," said oppression is a problem nationwide and want to call attention to it.

"Watching what's happening in Missouri every day on the news and not seeing anything happen on the Yale campus made us feel like it wasn't something we could stay quiet about," said march organizer Henry Chapman.

Demonstrators marched peacefully into downtown New Haven, led by police officers, and sat quietly with their hands held up after arriving at the New Haven Green.

They hoped their silent protest would show that the situation in Ferguson affects more than one city.

"I think discrimination and examples of inequality happen all over the nation, as well as all over the world, and although we're not in the same setting as we were in the '60s or '50s, when people were fighting for civil rights – I think it's a little bit more covert and insidious today – and I think it needs to be addressed," said Yale student Patricia Okonta.

New Haven and Yale police officers provided traffic control to keep demonstrators safe.

Two teenage boys accused of planning a mass shooting at South Pasadena High School were determined to kill people on the campus, officials said Tuesday.

School and police officials began investigating the threats last week, South Pasadena Police Chief Art Miller said at a press conference filled with parents, students and community members stunned by the allegations.

"It was very viable, what they were plotting," Miller said. "They were making a huge plan of a school massacre."

Miller said the two incoming seniors, aged 16 and 17, were very specific about their targets.

“As they put it, they just wanted to kill as many people as possible,” Miller said.

Investigators said the boys had not obtained weapons, but researched guns and explosives on the Internet. The pair were arrested after search warrants were served at their homes Monday.

Miller said the pair were researching automatic weapons, bulletproof vests, bomb making materials and other weapons.

He declined to discuss a possible motive for the planned attack. He said the two students did not have a specific date planned for an attack, but investigators believed they intended to carry it out.

“There was no target date, but had a very, very specific plan of how they were going to carry out their sick mission," Miller said.

The police chief said the parents of both boys were cooperating with the investigation.

But officials reassured parents, students and staff at the school Tuesday that there is no current threat. Classes are not yet in session for the fall semester, but some students have returned to activities on campus, and security will be increased when classes resume Thursday.

South Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Geoff Yantz issued a statement on social media.

"The South Pasadena High School administration was informed of a credible threat of potential school violence at the high school and immediately contacted the South Pasadena Police Department who investigated the matter," he said.

Counselors and psychologists were available at the school Monday.

But news of the arrests shocked the small community, which has just 21,000 residents.

"Parents are expressing a lot of sadness, fear, Mayor Marina Khubesrian said Monday. “Wondering will there be increased police presence in the schools. In general, a lot of concern."

Students said they were alarmed by the possibility classmates would even consider such a plan.

"I would think about (the plan) and I was, like, I could have lost all my friends that day and I would have been in such sorrow," said student Max Garcia.

Student Hanna Crowley said she was trying not to think too much about what could have happened.

"I'm trying not to actually think about what would have happened because that scares me quite a bit," she said.

Both boys were booked on suspicion of conspiracy and making criminal threats. Detectives said they will present their case to the LA County District Attorney's office late Tuesday.

Police arrested a Glastonbury man accused of threatening to kill his wife and children on Monday.

Gregory Benway, 50, of Glastonbury, made the threat during a dispute with his wife, who texted her mother about the incident. Benway's mother-in-law reported the situation to Glastonbury police.

Police charged Benway with second-degree threatening.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Police arrested three men after finding heroin in a car parked near the Farmington Canal Trail in Hamden during a suspected drug deal, according to police.

Jeffrey O. Crewe, 39, of Hamden, Lache McGee, 35, of Hamden, and JonMichael Young, 35, of New Haven, are facing multiple narcotics charges.

Officers in the Hamden Police Bicycle Unit noticed a person walk through a fence opening on the west side of the trail at about 6 p.m. on Wednesday and observed a parked car in the area behind some bushes.

Police found "94 glassine bags of heroin" that weighed 32.6 grams in total.

Police charged Crewe, McGee and Young with possession of narcotics, conspiracy to commit possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, conspiracy to commit possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, operating a drug factory and conspiracy to commit operating a drug factory.

Police held all three suspects in custody on a $100,000 bond and they are scheduled to appear in Meriden Superior Court on Aug. 27.

One person was injured when a car carrier, box truck and SUV collided on Interstate 95 southbound between exits 17 and 18 in Westport Tuesday morning, according to the Westport Fire Department.

Fire officials said the box truck struck a Chevrolet Suburban from behind, pushing the SUV into a car carrier shortly after 8:30 a.m. 

The driver of the Suburban "escaped serious injuries" and was treated at the scene, according to firefighters.

Emergency responders also worked to contain a gas leak that had sprung in the Suburban's fuel tank. Authorities notified the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection of the spill and towed all three vehicles from the scene.

Fire officials are urging drivers to leave a safe following distance on the road, especially on highways.

Roberts Street is closed in East Hartford after a crash on the 100 block, according to police.

Traffic is being detoured and police are asking drivers to avoid the area.

There has been no word on injuries.

Check back for updates.

Mo'ne Davis, the 13-year-old girl who's become baseball's breakout star, has become the first Little League player ever to make the national cover of Sports Illustrated.

Not that the Philadelphia eighth-grader needs any more firsts under her belt — not with her blinding 70 mph fastball, and certainly not with the Series shutout she threw last week, making her the first girl ever to throw a shutout in Little League World Series history.

Remember Her Name! #LLWS2014 sensation @Monedavis11 is on this week's national cover http://t.co/LAwVgubpCS pic.twitter.com/sENsPMF7ew

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 19, 2014

Mo'ne, an honor roll student at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, has helped make her team the Taney Dragons the first Little League team from Philadelphia ever to advance to the Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. 

But Mo'ne's sports goals extend far beyond baseball.

"To be honest, I never thought I'd be famous for baseball," she told Sports Illustrated. "I want to play basketball, and I could also do both basketball and baseball — but I really want to play basketball."

She one day hopes to play basketball for the University of Connecticut on a full scholarship, preferably as the point guard for the Huskies. Her mother Lakeisha McLean says she's confident her daughter can do it.

"When Mo’ne says she's gonna do it, she's gonna do it," McLean said.

Mo'ne will take the mound Wednesday in Las Vegas when the Taney Dragons take on the only other undefeated team in the Series, the Mountain Ridge team from Las Vegas.

--David Chang contributed additional reporting.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

Unrest has continued to roil the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, despite various tactics by authorities to diffuse a crisis sparked by the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown on Aug. 9.

Calls among for the arrest of the officer who shot Brown have grown as protests continued for a tenth night.

Here's what else you need to know:

How did the chaos begin?
A candlelight vigil for Michael Brown ballooned to a riot on Sunday, Aug. 10, as looters were seen making off with food and alcohol from nearby stores. Some protestors stood on police cars and taunted officers in the first of several nights of unrest and violence in Ferguson, Missouri.

Protestors were enraged by the shooting of the unarmed man who, according to some witnesses, had his hands up in the air — a universal sign of surrender. Demonstrators around the country and on social media have turned the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture into a rallying cry amid the protests.

Police fought back with tear gas and rubber bullets, prompting questions over the intimidating presence of security forces armed with military-grade gear and equipment. The conflict has also brought attention to allegations of racial profiling in a community where 92.7 percent of those arrested in 2013 were black, when they make up 63 percent of the city's population, according to a report by the Missouri Attorney General's Office. 

The Ferguson Police Department has 53 officers, three of whom are black.

Who was Michael Brown?
The teenager was on his way home from a convenience store on Aug. 9 with a friend when police officer Darren Wilson shot Brown multiple times. Brown had no criminal record, but it was later revealed that he was a suspect in a robbery allegedly committed before the shooting.

Brown graduated from Normandy High School in the spring and was two days away from starting college before he was gunned down. Teachers described him as a "gentle giant," according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and friends said he was a quiet, funny guy who loved music and struggled to graduate.

He was in ROTC, he played football, and upon graduation on May 22, he told a friend that he was determined to build for himself a successful life. "He said he wasn't going to end up like some people on the streets," Hershel Johnson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He was going to get an education. He was going to make his life a whole lot better."

His funeral is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 25.

Who is Darren Wilson?
On Aug. 15, after a night of relative calm, police identified the shooter as Darren Wilson, a 28-year-old man who had patrolled the suburbs of St. Louis for six years, according to The Associated Press. On the same day Wilson's identity was made public, authorities released a surveillance video that implicated Brown in a convenience store robbery of nearly $50 worth of cigars moments before he was killed. The video's release fueled more protests, with police clashing with crowds as nighttime descended on Ferguson. Wilson's supporters have rallied in St. Louis, created Facebook pages and raised money for his family on GoFundMe.com.

Who are the major players?
The shooting has pit those who are calling for Wilson's arrest against Ferguson's security forces, which now include the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the National Guard. The FBI opened an investigation into Brown's death and President Barack Obama pleaded for peace after several nights of clashes between crowds and police. Some local protesters have blocked businesses to defend the community from looters. Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to visit Ferguson Wednesday to meet with prosecutors and community leaders.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson and Rev. Al Sharpton are also leading  voices on the ground. Brown's parents Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown, Sr. are being represented by Benjamin Crump, the civil rights attorney in the Trayvon Martin case.

What happened on the day of the shooting?
Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson were walking home in the middle of the road on the 2900 block of Canfield Drive around noon on Aug. 9 when a police car with two officers approached the pair. The officers and the boys exchanged words, but after this the narratives split.

Johnson said Officer Wilson ordered the two to the sidewalk but the boys told the officers they were near their destination. The officer slammed on his brakes and stopped so that he was face-to-face with the teens. Wilson tried to open his door, but it hit Brown's body and ricocheted closed.

From his vehicle, Wilson grabbed Brown by the neck and shirt, verbally threatened to shoot the teen and fired his gun, according to Johnson. The two boys ran for cover, but the officer got out of his car, fired several more rounds and the lumbering, 6-foot-4 Brown slumped to the ground, according to Johnson.

Police say Brown and Wilson were involved in an altercation, where Brown pushed the officer back into his car and physically assaulted him. The two struggled over the officer's weapon and a shot was fired inside the police car. After the pair took off running, Wilson fired more shots. Brown was fatally shot when he lowered his arms and moved toward Wilson, law enforcement officials said. Wilson was taken to nearby hospital where was treated for a "swollen face," according to Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson.

What do the autopsies say?
An autopsy commissioned by Michael Brown’s family and one performed by the St. Louis County medical examiner found Brown was shot in the head and the chest. The expert who performed the family's autopsy said he was shot at least six times, and the final bullet that hit him -- in the head -- proved fatal. The reports prompted more calls for justice, with Brown's mother asking, what else is needed "to arrest the killer of my child." Attorney General Eric Holder commissioned a third, federal autopsy due to the "extraordinary circumstances involved in this case."

Who is in charge?
The Missouri Highway Patrol took over security in Ferguson on Aug. 14, with Capt. Ron Johnson, who grew up in the area, at the helm. After four nights of unrest with local police in charge, the mood among protestors became lighter and more festive within hours of the transition.

That soon changed after police paired the announcement of Wilson's identity with the release of the robbery video, which Brown's supporters called a "character assassination." Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Saturday declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew, which some protestors ignored.

On Monday, Aug. 18, Gov. Nixon lifted the curfew and enlisted the help of the National Guard to restore order. Authorities arrested at least 78 people overnight after police said they were fired on by "criminals." Of the 78, all but three people were arrested for refusing to disperse, according to records obtained by NBC News. At least 47 people were arrested the following night, though Johnson credited community elders and clergy with bringing a "different dynamic" to Tuesday's protests.

Could Wilson be charged with a crime?
It’s too soon to say. Prosecutors were expected to begin presenting preliminary evidence to a St. Louis County grand jury on Wednesday, Aug. 20, NBC News reported. The secret proceedings could take weeks. Nine of 12 members of the grand jury would have to agree on whether to indict Wilson. Brown's family has called for a special prosecutor to take over the case from County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch over his purported ties to police.

Police have arrested a 23-year-old man accused of stealing copper piping and tools from a Plainfield construction site.

Adrian Negron, of Sterling, has been charged with sixth-degree larceny. Police say he stole from the construction site at Plainfield's Big Y Supermarket on Lathrop Road around 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Negron is scheduled to appear in Danielson Superior Court on Sept. 2.

The Plainfield Police Department is reminding residents to report any suspicious activities. If you’d like to submit an anonymous tip, please call 860-564-7065.