This morning Canfield Green resident Yvon Clark woke up to yelling.
“I heard someone saying somebody set it on fire,” he said. “Wake up, wake up everybody get up. And I came to the door and I looked out the door and I saw one SUV truck sitting here.”
Here, is next to a curbside memorial for Michael Brown, which was burned down this morning.
Ferguson Police Department Capt. Jeremy Corcoran said his department received a call at 6:45 a.m., reporting a fire on the roadway in the Canfield Green apartment complex.
Members of the Ferguson Police Department were already on scene when the firefighters arrived. Corcoran said when they arrived the stuffed animals, flowers and signs that had decorated the curb had been reduced to ash. The street lamp to which many of the items were attached was blackened.
The incident is being investigated by the Ferguson Police Department. Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said in a statement that currently the cause of the fire is unknown.
Some Ferguson residents, including Nadia Epps, believe the memorial was intentionally destroyed.
“I know it was set on purpose,” She said. “I have no doubt in my mind that it was set on purpose, like you can smell the gasoline. You get a couple inches close to there and you can smell the gasoline.”
By late morning a crowd of around 30 people gathered near the memorial, some were yelling protest chants, while others rebuilt the memorial. Epps said the community's commitment to Michael Browns remembrance exemplifies residents unbreakable spirit.
“That just shows how strong this community is. That just shows how willing people are to actually make this happen. That just shows this is not a game. This is not a joke.”
Ferguson Police are asking that individuals with information contact the department.