Pastor B.T. Rice, founder of the St. Louis Initiative to Reduce Violence, or SIRV, sits in the church he built, New Horizon 7th Day Christian. "I started SIRV after burying far too many young people in this church."

Demonstrators lie in the middle of the intersection of Delmar Boulevard and Skinker Boulevard in St. Louis, blocking traffic from four sides to protest the acquittal of police officer Jason Stockley, who fatally shot black motorist Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011. Protests against the police continued for weeks, occasionally turning violent.

Paramilitary trainee Zac Stone gets his equipment primed by Joe Magoffin, left. Both are members of One Shepherd, a group that operates out of a camp deep in the Ozark forest. Members of the group train to conduct operations, day and night, with surplus military equipment including trucks, night vision and rifles.

Juice Box Vape Shop employee Brad Daugherty blows vape smoke over a glass countertop in the first step in a multi-stage "vape trick" known as an "F5" on March 14, 2017. Daugherty then attempted to use his free hand to swirl the smoke into a tornado shape, hence the trick's name.

Columbia resident Shamsa Saeed waves an American flag during a rally held to protest President Trump's travel ban on January 29, 2017. Hundreds marched to the local mosque, the Islamic Center of Central Missouri, and laid yellow flowers, like the one held by Saeed, to symbolize friendship.

Cooks busily make dumplings and filling for Xiao Long Bao, a traditional Chinese dish, in the kitchen of the Michelin-starred restaurant Din Tai Fung in Seattle.

The submarine UC3 Nautilus, onboard which Danish inventor Peter Madsen brutally murdered and dismembered Swedish journalist Kim Wall, sits in an industrial district in Northern Copenhagen, wrapped in forensic plastic. With the investigation complete and Madsen convicted, Danish authorities are determining what to do with the submarine.

Columbia firefighters file into a dark, smoke-filled livestock auction ring in the back of the abandoned Bull Pen Cafe during a training session. In the foreground is a ragged hole in the floor through which they removed two "injured" victims.

A member of the Czech Republic's Hradní stráž stands guard outside Pražský hrad, the nation's presidential palace, atop Castle Hill in the center of Prague.

A Halal butcher reaches to retrieve the last piece of meat from his display case as he closes up shop for the day. The shop, Bazar Slagter, caters almost entirely to middle-eastern refugees who have been relocated to Aarhus, Denmark.

Then-president-elect Donald Trump walks through throngs of smartphone-wielding supporters on his way to the stage during his "Thank You" tour stop at the Hy-Vee Events Center in Des Moines, IA on December 8, 2016, exactly a month after being elected president of the United States. President Trump spent a large part of his hour-long speech promising to bring jobs back to cities like Des Moines.

Mary Hennings tears up while discussing her two sons both killed in incidents of gun violence. Michael, who was shot to death in an unsolved homicide in downtown St. Louis in 2014, and Alvin Jr., in 1989.

Cowgirl Shannon Dudley sits atop a quarter in the training ring at Jim Dudley Quarter Horses outside Columbia, MO on September 15, 2016. Dudley spent the day showing children who visited the stables how a horse and rider work together to get around.