Brown, 18, was shot to death shortly after noon Saturday, Aug. 9, in the 2900 block of Canfield Drive at the Canfield Green apartments in Ferguson. The official autopsy said he was struck by six bullets. His body lay on the street for more than four hours before it was taken away to the morgue, where it was delivered at 4:37 p.m.

Brown lived with his grandmother in the neighboring Northwinds apartments. He had just graduated from Normandy High School and, according to his family, was to begin taking classes at Vatterott College. Brown was shown in a security video shortly before his death at Ferguson Market and Liquor, 9101 West Florissant Avenue, less than one-half mile from the shooting scene. The video shows Brown taking cigars and shoving a store attendant.

About 4,500 people attended his funeral Aug. 25, including the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Brown is buried at St. Peter's Cemetery in Normandy.

Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, no longer a couple, have taken part in protests and other events, occasionally speaking but often communicating with the public through their attorneys. They have asked that protests be non-violent. They also have a daughter. Brown Sr. is married to Calvina Brown, McSpadden is married to Louis Head. She has two other children, family members said.

Christian Gooden

Lesley McSpadden, (left), mother of slain teenager Michael Brown, speaks to supporters and media with husband Louis Head at her side at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport on Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, after arriving from a trip to Geneva, Switzerland to speak before the United Nations Committee Against Torture. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch

Wilson, 28, is the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown during an encounter Aug. 9. Wilson has been a Ferguson police officer since October 2011 and, before joining that force, worked for the former Jennings Police Department.

Wilson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and moved to the St. Louis area with his mother as a boy. He graduated from St. Charles West High School in 2004. Wilson is on paid leave at a salary of $45,302.

On Aug. 9, Wilson had left a sick call nearby when he encountered Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson walking in the street about noon and told them to get on the sidewalk. According to a source, Wilson said Brown struggled for Wilson's weapon inside the police SUV. A shot struck Brown's hand, and Brown ran. According to the source, Wilson said he got out of the SUV, Brown charged at him and Wilson fired the fatal shots.

Johnson, 22, was walking with Brown when they encountered Wilson. Johnson was with Brown during the incident a short time before at the Ferguson Market and Liquor.

Johnson told reporters that Wilson ordered them to stop walking in the street and cursed them. Johnson said the officer reached out of his vehicle window and grabbed Brown by the throat and then arm, and one shot was fired as they struggled. Johnson said he and Brown then ran. He said Wilson got out of his car and fired again, hitting Brown, who then turned and raised his hands in the air before Wilson fired the fatal shots, according to Johnson. His statement is the origin of the protesters' chant of "hands up, don't shoot."

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson

Jackson, 57, has been the city's chief since March 2010 after having been with the St. Louis County Police for 31 years. His family moved to the St. Louis area from Massachusetts when he was 10 years old. He was working as an ambulance driver when he became interested in being a police officer. He was a helicopter pilot, member of the tactical team and a sergeant with the county department.

Five days after Brown was shot, Jackson released both officer Darren Wilson's identity and the surveillance video from the Ferguson Market. Many protesters have demanded that Jackson be removed, as have some political leaders. Others, including U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., have said Jackson should step down. He has refused to resign or retire, saying he will leave only on his own terms.

McCulloch, 63, has been St. Louis County prosecutor since 1990, when he first won election as a Democrat. He won a seventh four-year term without opposition on the ballot on Nov. 4. He was an assistant county prosecutor from 1978 to 1985.

McCulloch was 12 years old when his father, St. Louis police officer Paul McCulloch, was killed in a gun battle with a kidnapper at the former Pruitt-Igoe housing complex in 1964.

Protesters have demanded that McCulloch step aside and let a special prosecutor handle the case. Critics have said he is biased toward police officers, partly because of the murder of his father. Other political opponents were angry that he backed County Councilman Steve Stenger's successful bid to defeat County Executive Charlie Dooley in the August Democratic primary. McCulloch has refused to step aside, insisting he will do the job he was elected to perform.

Two other fatal shootings of black men by St. Louis police, occurring shortly after Brown was killed, added to tensions.

Kajieme Powell, 25, was shot by two city officers on the afternoon of Aug. 19 in the 8700 block of Riverview Boulevard. Powell held a steak knife and could be heard shouting, "Shoot me! Kill me now!" as he approached the officers, according to a bystander's video. Police Chief Sam Dotson went to the scene and spoke to residents, and the neighborhood generally remained calm. His family has filed a wrongful death suit.

But there were protests and violence after an off-duty officer, working security in the Shaw neighborhood, shot and killed VonDerrit D. Myers Jr., 18, on the evening of Oct. 8 in the 4100 block of Shaw Boulevard. Police said Myers and two other young men ran after seeing the officer, who was wearing his uniform, and the officer ran after them. Myers shot at the officer, according to police, and the officer returned fire, killing Myers. Family members said he didn't have a weapon. Police said they recovered slugs fired from what they identified as Myers' pistol. Myers was awaiting trial on a weapons case from June.

His death sparked street protests that escalated to vandalism of police cars and the burning of flags stolen from nearby residences. That weekend, thousands of demonstrators from around the country gathered for "FergusonOctober," a series of protests to mark two months since Brown's shooting. The weekend of events included protests on Shaw.