LONDON - An inquest jury has largely vindicated police over a fatal shooting that set off a wave of rioting across England in 2011.

Jurors at London's High Court have found by a majority of eight to two that 29-year-old Mark Duggan was "lawfully killed" when he was shot dead by a police marksman in the north London neighborhood of Tottenham.

Riots started locally after a confrontation between protesters and police turned sour. The violence quickly spread to other parts of London, and then across England as police struggled to contain the unrest. Images of rampaging looters and burning buildings unnerved Britons only a year before the nation's capital was due to host the 2012 Olympics.

Wednesday's decision is likely to influence the debate over why the riots happened.