<p>U2 has cancelled its September 16 concert in St. Louis, Missouri after a night of unrest over a police officer&#8217;s acquittal that saw rocks thrown at officers, injuries, and arrests. The mayor&#8217;s house was damaged, and a public library&#8217;s windows smashed, among the other developments.</p> 
<p>In the midst of all of this, U2 wrote on Saturday morning on Twitter: &#8220;Tonight&#8217;s St. Louis Show Cancelled &#8216;We cannot risk fans&#8217; safety.&#8221;</p> 
<p>The iconic band <a href="http://www.u2.com/news/title/st-louis-show-cancelled" type="external">released a lengthy statement</a>explaining the decision to no longer play at The Dome America Center. It was posted to U2&#8217;s website and reads:</p> 
<q> <p>Live Nation and U2 regrettably announce their St. Louis show scheduled for tonight, September 16, 2017 has been cancelled.</p> <p>&#8220;We have been informed by the St. Louis Police Department that they are not in a position to provide the standard protection for our audience as would be expected for an event of this size.</p> <p>We have also been informed that local crowd security personnel would not be at full capacity.</p> <p>In light of this information, we cannot in good conscience risk our fans&#8217; safety by proceeding with tonight&#8217;s concert. As much as we regret having to cancel, we feel it is the only acceptable course of action in the current environment.&#8221; &#8211; Live Nation and U2</p> <p>Fans who purchased tickets online will receive a refund on the credit card tickets were ordered on. Refunds for non-internet purchases will be available starting Monday at 10am at point of purchase.</p> </q> 
<p>Here&#8217;s the band&#8217;s tweet on the cancellation:</p> 
<p>Here&#8217;s some of the reaction on Twitter. Some people expressed sadness, others said they were angry (at those causing the unrest, at U2), and others wanted the band to make a social statement.</p> 
<p>The concert being cancelled upset fans on social media, but it was just one of multiple closings in St. Louis because of riots and protests over <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/15/us/jason-stockley-officer-shooting-verdict/index.html" type="external">a judge&#8217;s acquittal</a>of a white police officer in the shooting death of an African-American man, Anthony Lamar Smith. Prosecutors had argued that the former police officer, Jason Stockley, planted a gun after the shooting, something he denied.</p>
U2’s St. Louis Concert Cancelled; Fans Offered Refunds