Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon will pull the St. Louis County police department off the investigation into a Ferguson police officer’s shooting of an unarmed black teen after street protests turned increasingly violent, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

“The governor just called me and he’s on his way to St. Louis now to announce he’s taking away St. Louis County police out of the situation,” US Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) told the news service.

But it was unclear who would step into the breach after a fourth night of rioting Wednesday in which members of a mob in Ferguson tossed Molotov cocktails at cops, who responded by firing tear gas into the crowd.

Clay said Nixon may ask the FBI — which is already investigating the case — to step in, and that he has been urging US Attorney General Eric Holder to “take over the entire situation because we will not get justice for Michael Brown and his family and friends if the St. Louis County police and prosecutor have a say.”

Cops and protesters have faced off every night since Brown, 18, was shot by a still-unidentified cop Saturday as he walked down the street with a pal a few days before he was to head off to college.

President Barack Obama, who is vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, issued a statement of sympathy that also called for calm, but hasn’t reacted publicly to the unrest.

But Obama was expected to talk about the case from Martha’s Vineyard, where he is on vacation, at 12:15 p.m. Thursday.

Riot police clear demonstrators from a street in Ferguson, Missouri, on Aug. 13. Reuters A riot police officer aims his weapon while demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson on Aug. 13. Reuters Riot police stand guard. Reuters A protester throws back a smoke bomb during clashes with police. Reuters Demonstrators link arms during protests on the evening of Aug. 13. Getty Images A mother and daughter raise their hands in front of riot police. Reuters A device deployed by police goes off in the street as police and protesters clash. AP A young woman walks from a corner after police standing near the corner fired tear gas at her. Getty Images Amid protests, police surround and detain a person in Ferguson on Wednesday. Getty Images A demonstrator quickly throws back a tear gas container after tactical officers try to break up a group of bystanders. AP An explosive device deployed by police flies in the air as police and protesters clash Aug. 13. AP A demonstrator carries a Molotov cocktail. Getty Images A combination photograph shows in sequence a protester throwing back a smoke bomb. Reuters An Al Jazeera television crew scrambles for cover as police fire tear gas into their reporting position. Getty Images A man picks up a blazing bottle and prepares to throw it as a line of police advance in the distance. AP 4-year-old Jeremiah stands with his mother during a protest on the evening of Aug. 13. AP Getty IMages A protester is engulfed in smoke as he throws back a smoke bomb while clashing with police. Reuters Police officers work their way north on West Florissant Avenue. AP A protester tries to stand his ground against police ... Getty Images ... but soon takes cover from the exploding tear gas. ZumaPress Getty Images Getty Images Riot police clear a street with smoke bombs. Reuters Getty Images Police deploy an explosive device into the air. AP Protesters try unsuccessfully to light a Molotov cocktail. AP Reuters Ad Up Next Close Surgeon uses Google Glass to broadcast surgery live In the first case of its kind, a Chinese surgeon... 29 View Slideshow Back Continue Share this: Facebook

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The White House said Obama was being briefed by Holder and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, both of whom are also on the island.

Clay told Bloomberg that federal and state authorities have waited too long to take charge.

“Yeah, because they are relying on the St. Louis County authorities to do the right thing. Now the governor realizes that they’re not going to do the right thing,” Clay said. “It will become apparent to the federal, to the Justice Department soon, that they won’t be doing the right thing.”

Nixon, a Democrat considered a likely vice presidential candidate in 2016, has so far only issued a statement on the case.

“The worsening situation in Ferguson is deeply troubling, and does not represent who we are as Missourians or as Americans,” he said. “While we all respect the solemn responsibility of our law enforcement officers to protect the public, we must also safeguard the rights of Missourians to peaceably assemble and the rights of the press to report on matters of public concern.”

In Ferguson, officers dodged Molotov cocktails, fired tear gas, rubber bullets and smoke bombs and arrested two journalists during mayhem late Wednesday and early Thursday.

PHOTOS: Police fire tear gas near Al Jazeera crew, then disassemble the gear after they flee. #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/It5FOxVWhB — Cassidy Moody (@CassFM) August 14, 2014

Brown’s killing Saturday has sparked outrage in the town, which is two-thirds black but is patrolled by a city police force that has just three African-American cops among its 53 officers.

Ten people, including St. Louis Alderman Antonio French, Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery and Huffington Post writer Ryan Reilly, were arrested late Wednesday.

The two journalists were handcuffed and briefly detained by police who said the reporters didn’t clear out of a McDonald’s, where they’d been working, fast enough.

A Los Angeles Times reporter said he called Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson to tell him about the journalists’ arrest and the city’s top cop responded: “Oh God.”

“I told them [police] to release them,” Jackson said later.

Before the latest skirmishes broke out, Missouri state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal confronted Jackson during a press conference.

“I just wanted to know if I was going to be gassed again, like I was on Monday night,” Chappelle-Nadal asked. “We couldn’t get out, and we were peacefully sitting. I just wanted to know if I’m going to be gassed again?”

Jackson answered: “I hope not.”

Protesters said police unnecessarily reacted with excessive force late Wednesday.

But St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar defended officers’ work in controlling the angry crowd, saying cops responded with “an incredible amount of restraint.”

“It’s pretty amazing how impressed I am and inspired by these officers,” he said. “This is a very difficult circumstance.”

The St. Louis County Police Department has taken over the investigation of the Ferguson shooting.

Scores of police from across Missouri donned riot gear and used military-style armored trucks to form a defense line outside the Ferguson Police Department headquarters where demonstrators had gathered.

Video: Washington Post reporter detained in Ferguson

Most of the crowd finally dispersed at about 2:15 a.m. local time, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Protesters raised their hands and chanted: “Hands up, don’t shoot.”

Dorian Johnson, a friend of Brown, has said the teen was shot to death while his hands were raised, telling an officer that he was unarmed.

Johnson said he and Brown drew the ire of a cop because they were walking in the street and didn’t heed orders to get back on the sidewalk.

City police chief Jackson called improving race relations “the top priority right now,” despite a growing outcry from Ferguson residents to release more information about Brown’s killing.

The police have not released the name the officer who shot Brown or the number of shots he fired at the teen.

“We have the right to know, and the family has the right to know who murdered their son,” said Sahari Gutierrez, a 27-year-old Ferguson legal assistant.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch pleaded for patience and said his office needs more time to probe the officer’s actions on Saturday.

“The timeline on this is there is no timeline,” McCulloch said. “We will do this as expeditiously as possible. But we won’t rush.”

The prosecutor said he appreciates the public’s demand for immediate action, but won’t hurry the process.

“I know that’s not the answer anybody wants to hear at this point,” McCulloch said. “Everybody wants to know what happened.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton said he called Belmar on Thursday and told him he believed police acted with “excessive force.” Sharpton was in town earlier this week, meeting with Brown’s family.

“I told Chief Belmar that I was outraged by what I have seen on TV since leaving Ferguson and that we must not have excessive force to deal with legitimate protest of excessive force,” Sharpton said.

“We want to solve the problem, not create new ones. Even if we disagree this climate is not good for anyone and is dangerous for everyone.”