During protests in Ferguson this evening, two police officers were shot outside the Ferguson Police Department according to reports.
The shots were fired as police were confronting protesters who had gathered outside the police station.
Ferguson Lt. Col. Al Eickhoff said he didn't think either of the officers were from his department. He also didn't know the extent of their injuries. Eickhoff was not at the scene at the time of the shooting but he said he was headed there.
A police source said one of the officers is a St. Louis County officer and the other a Webster Groves officer.
The shots rang out as the protests appeared to be dwindling. Some of the protesters fell to the ground and others ran.
Several members of the media, including a Post-Dispatch reporter and photographer, were near the officers who were hit.
The shots appeared to come from the direction of a block of homes on Tiffin Avenue that intersects West Florissant Avenue. Witnesses reported two to four shots.
The shooting brought a much larger contingent of officers, many with high-powered rifles, to the scene.
The protests were winding down at the time. One live-streamer got video of the incident according to reports on Twitter, but police took her phone before she was able to archive the video.
From the reports I'm seeing, the shots came from an area where protesters were not gathered, which suggests someone took advantage of the situation to shoot a couple of cops.
Whatever the situation is, it does not bode well for Ferguson, or the protesters there. At least, not at this time. I'll update with details as they're available.
Via Twitter:
Update: 11:30 PM A video clip of the shots fired is above. Be forewarned -- there is NSFW language.
Update 2: 11:40 PM
Update 3: 11:45 PM - More video, just after
The officers were St. Louis County Police, according to this tweet:
