Reporters on the scene in Ferguson say the protests erupted into chaos as police began firing tear gas at crowds of protestors Sunday night—well before the official curfew time was set to begin—hitting media and children in the abrupt offensive.

It's not clear what sparked the sudden violent turn just after 10 pm on Sunday. The St. Louis Police Department posted on Twitter around the same time that molotov cocktails had been thrown at officers, but reporters on the scene described a peaceful protest that quickly turned into a cloud of tear gas and piercing LRAD sounds.

Sports Illustrated's Robert Klemko—who was also briefly arrested Sunday night— suggested on Twitter that police may have been responding to a march past a southern barricade. He also writes that police are claiming their command center was attacked.

A private autopsy report on Michael Brown, which showed the teenager was shot at least six times, was also released Sunday night.

Reporters on the scene say they were given no warning, trapped inside the protest perimeters and told to turn their cameras off. Police officers were caught on camera threatening to shoot KARG Argus Radio reporter Mustafa Hussein and threatening to mace MSNBC's Chris Hayes. At least two other reporters say they were arrested without cause.

According to reports, children were also hit by tear gas during the offensive.

Around midnight, there were reports on Twitter that a local market had been set on fire.

Chris Hayes also reported seeing an injured or dead body lying in the street after a car accident.

[image via KARG Argus Radio Livestream]