Governor Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in Ferguson, Missouri in response to looters after racial tensions boiled over once more in the wake of the police shooting of an unarmed black teen.

“To protect the people and property of Ferguson today, I signed an order declaring a state of emergency and ordering implementation of a curfew in the impacted area of Ferguson,” Nixon told reporters on Saturday.

Captain Ron Johnson, in charge of security in the restive St Louis suburb, said the curfew would begin overnight and last from midnight to 5am.