AceShowbiz -

Ed Sheeran and U2 decided to pull the plug on their secheduled concerts in St. Louis. The English musician and the Bono-fronted band cited safety concerns as protests erupted after a white former police officer was acquitted of shooting a black suspect in a 2011 incident.

Hundreds of people marched on Friday, September 15. It were relatively peaceful demonstrations until agitators allegedly smeared paint on Mayor Krewson's home and broke her windows. As tensions escalated, police in riot gear deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd.

According to a Fox 4 News report, there were numerous arrests. At least nine city police officers and one State Highway Patrol cop were injured during the Friday protests. The demonstrations are expected to continue on Saturday, September 16.

U2 was supposed to perform at The Dome at America's Center on Saturday. "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," the band said in a statement. "We have also been informed that local crowd security personnel would not be at full capacity."

"In light of this information, we cannot in good conscience risk our fans' safety by proceeding with tonight's concert. As much as we regret having to cancel, we feel it is the only acceptable course of action in the current environment," they added.

Meanwhile, Ed Sheran was initially scheduled to take the stage at Scottrade Center on Sunday, September 17. His rep said, "With the safety of the fans being of upmost concern, and after consulting with local officials, who could not fully commit to providing a sufficient amount of police and other city services support, we felt it was in everyone's best interest to cancel Sunday night's show. While we regret to have had to come to this decision, we do look forward to returning to St. Louis as soon as Ed's schedule will allow in 2018."