Rage has simmered in the mainly black suburb of Ferguson after a white police officer shot dead an unarmed black teenager in August. Uproar over Michael Brown's death and the St Louis prosecutor's refusal to indict officer Darren Wilson has inflamed racial tensions.
After a second night of protests saw a police car torched and shops attacked in Ferguson, Bastean said he sold 21 firearms in the first three hours of business.
In Ferguson, protesters demand an end to what they call racial profiling at the hands of the largely white police force.
Yesterday protesters tried to storm city hall in St Louis. Extra police and a National Guard Humvee were drafted to protect the building, as events in Ferguson inspired coast-to-coast anger in America and even a rally across the Atlantic in London.
But there were signs of Ferguson stabilising as night and a light snow fell. Volunteer clean-up crews, including children and families, were sweeping the streets. Heavy security - police, state troopers and the National Guard - was still visible in the streets, but the scale of destruction had dropped.
Residents hoped the looting and arson would stop. Karen Gold, who owns a shop selling repurposed furniture and items by local artists near the Ferguson city hall, said: "Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I hope we can pull together as a community. I want to move on from this."
Michael Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, told reporters she and his father hoped protests would remain peaceful.
But both parents had harsh words for Wilson who had said he had a "clean conscience" about the August 9 incident.
The grand jury found that Wilson had shot Brown in self-defence after an altercation. A total of 12 shots were fired.
Wilson had never killed a man and hadn't even fired his weapon before, except in training.
In his first televised comments since the incident, Wilson said he had feared for his life during the confrontation, believing Brown was attempting to wrestle his gun away from him.
The officer, who recently married and whose wife is pregnant, said he was comfortable that he had acted correctly.
"I don't believe a word of it," McSpadden said, when asked about the claim her son had thrown the first punch and been killed while charging down the street towards Wilson.
"[Wilson] didn't do what he had to do, he did what he wanted to do ... he wanted to kill someone."
McSpadden said Wilson's remarks added "insult after injury" and were "so disrespectful".
The victim's father, Michael Brown snr, said he felt the officer's version of events was "crazy".
"For one, my son, he respected law enforcement," Brown said. "Two, who in their right mind would rush or charge at a police officer that has his gun drawn? It sounds crazy."
McSpadden wept as she said her son's body was left lying in the street in the summer heat for so long that his organs could not be donated.
In another police shooting which has caused controversy, the city of Cleveland, Ohio, yesterday released a surveillance video that shows the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice who was carrying a fake gun that shoots plastic pellets.
Both officers involved are on paid administrative leave pending a decision by the prosecutor's office on whether to pursue criminal charges.
The officer who fatally shot the boy fired less than two seconds after pulling up in his cruiser, police said.
During those few moments, he ordered the youngster three times to put up his hands, they said.
What is striking about the video is the speed of the shooting, from Tamir sitting at a picnic table to the police car swooping in and shots being fired before the policeman's partner can even get out of the driver's door.
Winter chills block US holiday flights
More than 4000 flights have been cancelled or delayed in the United States northeast as a winter storm brought freezing rain and snow before the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the year's biggest travel weekends.
Rain was falling in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Washington, and snow and sleet were predicted.
The National Weather Service predicted havoc for travellers along the east coast from the Carolinas up through New England.
The American Automobile Association predicted 46.3 million Americans would travel 80km or more for the holiday, most by car, so the bad weather could create problems on highways.
About 700 flights were cancelled and 3470 delayed. The worst-affected airports were Philadelphia, Newark in New Jersey and LaGuardia in New York. Reagan National Airport in Washington was also affected.
United Airlines reported average delays of more than 90 minutes at JFK International in New York and 190 minutes in Newark and LaGuardia.
Flight traffic at Boston's Logan Airport was also disrupted. Many travellers opted to drive yesterday, taking advice from authorities to leave early to beat the weather.
Some airlines said certain passengers travelling to or from some northeastern US cities could change their flights without paying a penalty.
The estimated average round-trip distance travelled in the US during Thanksgiving will be 884km, says the AAA.
-Telegraph Group Ltd, Independent, AFP, AP
