( CNN ) -- Protesters took to St. Louis streets for a second night Thursday after an off-duty officer killed a teen who fired at him three times , authorities said . Chants of `` no justice , no peace '' rang into the night as crowds rallied after the Wednesday evening shooting . `` We pay you . You 're our employees ! '' a protester shouted . Police arrested eight people : five on accusations of unlawful assembly , two for alleged property damage and one on a marijuana possession charge , St. Louis police spokeswoman Schron Jackson said . One officer suffered minor injuries and two police cruisers were damaged , Jackson said . `` I think the officers showed a tremendous amount of restraint , '' St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson told CNN affiliate KMOV . Protesters also burned at least one American flag , CNN affiliate KSDK reported . That did n't go over well with some . `` These protesters in Saint louis burning American flags makes me sick , '' Twitter user AllenVA75 posted . `` brave men and women in uniform died for that flag , and they burn it ? '' But others defended the burning . Twitter user PontifexMonty said `` people really getting mad that they 're burning the flag in St. Louis . not about the black teens that are dead , the burning flag . '' The teenager , Vonderrit Deondre Myers , was struck by seven or eight bullets , said Dr. Michael Graham , a St. Louis medical examiner . `` All but one gunshot wound were to the lower extremities , '' Graham said . `` The one fatal wound was to the head . '' Police said the teen fired a pistol three times at an off-duty St. Louis officer who was wearing his uniform while moonlighting for a security company . The officer fired back 17 times , authorities said . Angry protesters pointed out similarities to the August killing of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson . Myers and Brown were both 18 , African-American and killed by white police officers . One big difference : Police said Brown was unarmed . iReport video : Shots fired at St. Louis protest . `` It 's a clear case of this young man being gunned down by an insensitive white officer who was off-duty , '' Akbar Muhammad , who also is a member of a coalition calling for the officer who shot Brown to be prosecuted , told CNN affiliate KTVI . Neil Bruntrager , a lawyer for the St. Louis Police Officers ' Association , dismissed accusations that 17 shots were excessive . `` When he uses deadly force , he uses deadly force until the threat is gone , '' he said on `` Erin Burnett OutFront . '' Without video of the incident or unbiased witnesses , the police and the public must rely on physical evidence , he said . A 9 mm pistol allegedly fired by Myers was found at the scene , police said . It was jammed , which shows that it had been fired , Bruntrager said . But Van Jones , a civil rights activist and CNN contributor , said there 's a lot of police mistrust after the Brown killing . `` You 're seeing a wholesale breakdown of trust , '' he said . The officer , a six-year veteran who has not been named , was placed on administrative leave . He served two tours of duty with the military in Iraq and was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart , Bruntrager said . While on patrol , the officer saw three men run away as he approached , Dotson said . He chased them after one held up his pants in a way that made the officer believe he may be carrying a gun , Dotson said . The officer tussled with one teen , who ran off , then turned around and fired at least three shots toward him , Dotson said . The officer returned fire , killing the teen . Additional marches are planned over the weekend around the St. Louis region , organizers said . CNN 's Shawn Nottingham contributed to this report .
NEW : Flag burning at protest provokes strong reactions . Police make eight arrests in St. Louis protests , department spokesman says . The demonstrations began after the acquittal of a white former police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown. A 9 mm pistol allegedly fired by the teen was found at the scene .