A number of people were arrested by police after a night of rioting in the British city of Birmingham left one man dead and up to 20 others injured.
Violent clashes broke out in the Lozells area of the city after residents attended a public meeting addressing concerns about an alleged sex attack on a 14-year-old girl.
Shops were hit and cars set on fire during the rioting, and hundreds of police in riot gear were attacked with bricks and bottles.
Four people were stabbed during the violence, including a black man in his 20s, who was taken to City Hospital but died from his injuries.
A police officer was shot in the leg with a ball-bearing gun. Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw, from West Midlands Police, described the violence as "entirely unacceptable".
"Police and community leaders share their abhorrence with the loss of life experienced," he said. "It is entirely unacceptable that certain elements have chosen to exact violence in this way.
Mr Shaw pleaded with people to stop spreading unsubstantiated rumours and deal in facts to prevent a reoccurrence of such violence. He said there was "not a shred of evidence" to support the allegations that the girl had been subjected to a serious sexual assault, but investigations were continuing.
A City Hospital spokeswoman said up to 20 people had been injured. "Many of those were walking wounded and about 10 were admitted," she added. Witnesses in the Lozells area described how the violence unfolded.
India Murray, landlady of the Union Inn in Gerrard Street, said she had locked her doors after the windows of her pub were smashed. She said tensions had been mounting in the area for the past four or five days with outbreaks of sporadic violence.
"It has been building up to it for the past few days. There was protest along Lozells Road and all the shops were closed but it all kicked off about 6pm."
She said she had to lock herself and her few remaining customers in the pub for their own safety.
PA