FERGUSON, MO – AUGUST 13: A demonstrator, protesting the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown, stands his ground as police fire tear gas on August 13, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on Saturday. Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, is experiencing its fourth day of violent protests since the killing. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

During a press conference from Martha’s Vineyard, where he is on vacation, President Barack Obama discussed the ongoing situation in Ferguson, Missouri.

“When something like this happens, local authorities, including the police, have a responsibility to be open and transparent about how they are investigating that death,” he said, adding that the Department of Justice and the FBI are investigating the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Brown, who was unarmed, was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on Saturday after some sort of altercation. The details of the killing are murky and the lack of information provided by local authorities have prompted mass protests and riots in the St. Louis suburb, which have recently broke out violence.

President Obama emphasized that, while the country “[has] been deeply disturbed” by the images from the situation in Ferguson, “now is the time for healing.” He added that “there is never an excuse for violence against police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting, just as “there is also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights. And here in the United States of America, police should not be arresting or bullying journalists who are just trying to do their jobs.”