Police in Ferguson took people into custody for questioning after surrounding a local home Thursday morning, as they searched for suspects in the shooting of two police officers that rocked the Missouri town anew months after protests began over the shooting of an unarmed black teenager.
Television footage showed police surrounding a house at about 11 a.m. local time, following a shooting the St. Louis police chief characterized as “an ambush.” People were removed from the house by police, authorities confirmed, but no one had been arrested shortly after noon.
“People have been taken in for questioning,” said Brian Schellman, a St. Louis County Police spokesperson. “I cannot say how many at this point because I don’t know. Waiting to be briefed by detectives once they are done at the scene.”
The two injured officers—a 41-year-old from St. Louis County who was shot in the shoulder and a 32-year-old from nearby Webster Groves who was shot in the face—were released from the hospital on Thursday morning, hours after they were shot.
Witness the Aftermath of 2 Police Shot in Ferguson
Police officers stand on alert during a protests outside the Ferguson Police Department on March 11, 2015 in Ferguson, Mo. Michael B. Thomas—Getty ImagesA protester chants in front of a flag which reads, "Racism lives here", outside the City of Ferguson Police Department and Municipal Court in Ferguson, March 11, 2015.Kate Munsch—ReutersPolice arrests a protestor outside the City of Ferguson Police Department and Municipal Court in Ferguson, March 11, 2015.Kate Munsch—Reuters
Protestors hold signs during a protest outside the Ferguson Police Department on March 11, 2015 in Ferguson.Michael B. Thomas—Getty ImagesPolice officers respond to a fellow officer hit by gunfire outside the Ferguson Police Headquarters in Ferguson, Mo. on March 12, 2014.Lawrence Bryant—St. Louis American/ReutersPolice take cover after two officers were shot while standing guard in front of the Ferguson Police Station on Thursday, March 12, 2015. Laurie Skrivan—APPolice mobilize in the parking lot of the Ferguson Police Station after two police officers were shot while standing guard in front of the Ferguson Police Station, March 12, 2015. Laurie Skrivan—St Louis Post Dispatch/PolarisParamedics load one of two police officer who were shot while standing guard in front of the Ferguson Police Station during a protest on March 12, 2015. Laurie Skrivan—St Louis Post Dispatch/PolarisPolice shine a light on a helmet as they investigate the scene where two police officers were shot outside the Ferguson Police Department Thursday, March 12, 2015, in Ferguson, Mo.Jeff Roberson—APPolice guard the corner off Adams Street and South Florissant Rd after two officers were shot while standing guard in front of the Ferguson Police Station on March 12, 2015. Laurie Skrivan—St Louis Post Dispatch/Polaris
About 150 protesters had gathered in front of the police station on Wednesday after the Ferguson police chief announced his resignation in the wake of a excoriating Department of Justice report that found widespread racial bias among the city’s police. As the crowd began to dwindle around midnight, the shots rang out.
“This is really an ambush, is what it is,” St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a news conference on Thursday.
Police say that three or four shots were fired at the line of police from about 125 yards away. An investigation is ongoing.
“We’re lucky, by god’s grace we didn’t lose two officers last night,” said Belmar, who added that police drew their weapons but did not fire back.
The protest recalled months of sometimes violent demonstrations, which began after a police officer shot 18-year-old Michael Brown in August and that resurged after a grand jury declined to indict the officer, Darren Wilson, in November. While gunshots were heard during some of those protests, no police officers were shot.
“It’s a miracle that we haven’t had any instances similar to this over the summer and fall,” Belmar said.
Responding to the shooting on Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder issued a statement in support of the local law enforcement after the “heinous assault.”
“Such senseless acts of violence threaten the very reforms that nonviolent protesters in Ferguson and around the country have been working towards for the past several months,” Holder said. “We stand ready to offer any possible aid to an investigation into this incident, including the department’s full range of investigative resources.”
“We reject any kind of violence directed toward members of law enforcement. It cannot and will not be tolerated,” the statement said.
“We specifically denounce the actions of stand-alone agitators who unsuccessfully attempt to derail the otherwise peaceful and non-violent movement that has emerged throughout this nation to confront police brutality and to forward the cause of equality under the law for all. We must work together to bring peace to our communities.”
See 23 Key Moments From Ferguson
On Aug. 9, 2014, unarmed teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. This image provided by KMOV-TV shows investigators inspecting Brown's body.Tiffany Mitchell—APLesley McSpadden, Brown's mother, is comforted by her husband, Louis Head, on Aug. 9, 2014, after her son's deathHuy Mach—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/APA fire burns at a QuikTrip store in Ferguson on Aug. 10, 2014, as protests turned violent one day after Brown's death. The night marked the first violent turn for the protests.David Carson—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/APHeavily-armed police advance on a protester on Aug. 11, 2014. Law enforcement's tactical response, which included military-grade weapons, tanks and SWAT teams, touched off a debate over the militarization of local police forces.Whitney Curtis—The New York Times/ReduxA protester takes shelter from billowing smoke during demonstrations in Ferguson on Aug. 13, 2014. Such scenes were relatively common during the first week of protests.David Carson—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/APA demonstrator throws back a tear gas container after tactical officers worked to break up a group of bystanders on Chambers Road near West Florissant in Ferguson on Aug. 13, 2014. Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MCT/Zuma PressCaptain Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol addresses the media in Ferguson on Aug. 15, 2014. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon appointed NIxon to coordinate law enforcement's response after local departments were criticized for fanning the flames.Lucas Jackson—ReutersDarren Wilson at a Ferguson city council meeting on Feb. 11, 2014. The image was the first widely-circulated photo of Wilson after the shooting.City of Ferguson/APTear gas rains down on a woman kneeling in the street with her hands in the air during a demonstration in Ferguson on Aug. 17, 2014. The "hands up, don't shoot" pose became the defining gesture of the protests.Scott Olson—Getty ImagesPolice in Ferguson fire tear gas in the direction of bottle-throwing crowds on Aug. 18, 2014.David Carson—St Louis Post-Dispatch / PolarisLaw enforcement officers look on during a protest on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson on Aug. 18, 2014.Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty ImagesU.S. Attorney General Eric Holder appeared with Capt. Ron Johnson at Drake's Place Restaurant in Ferguson on Aug. 20, 2014. Holder's visit was meant to calm tensions after almost 10 days of protests.Pablo Martinez Monsivais—Pool/Getty ImagesAn anguished Michael Brown, Sr. yells as his son's casket is lowered into the ground at St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis, Mo., on Aug. 25, 2014. Richard Perry—ReutersMembers of the Ferguson Police Department wear body cameras during a rally on Aug. 30, 2014, in Ferguson. Like a number of departments around the U.S., Ferguson police began using the wearable cameras after Michael Brown was killed. There are no video recordings of the incident involving Brown and officer Darren Wilson.Aaron P. Bernstein—Getty ImagesA fire on Sept. 23, 2014 burned a memorial for Michael Brown on the site where he was killed. The memorial was later rebuilt.Jacob Crawford—APFerguson Police Chief Tom Jackson, left, addresses protesters in front of the Ferguson Police Department, on Sept. 25, 2014. Protesters have called for Jackson to resign.Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/APDemonstrators participate at a rally on the campus of St. Louis University on Oct. 13, 2014. Citizens around St. Louis continued to demonstrate throughout October, including during a performance by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and at a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.Scott Olson—Getty ImagesAcademic Cornel West is taken into custody after performing an act of civil disobedience at the Ferguson, Mo., police station on Oct. 13, 2014.Charles Rex Arbogast—APLesley McSpadden, Michael Brown's mother, attends a press conference addressing the U.N. Committee Against Torture, in Geneva, Switzerland, on Nov. 12, 2014. Brown's parents testified in front of the committee about their son's death.Martial Trezzini—EPAAfter the announcement that the grand jury brought no charges against Darren Wilson, police officers and protesters faced off on a tense night in which cars and buildings were burned by protesters and tear gas thrown by police, in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014.Jim Young—ReutersOn March 4, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice released two reports clearing Officer Wilson of any civil rights violations when he shot and killed Brown but found a pattern of explicit racism and unfair treatment of minorities by Ferguson police officers and local officials.Carolyn Kaster—APFerguson Police Chief Tom Jackson stepped down March 11, 2015, after a federal report harshly criticized the police department, becoming the sixth Ferguson official to resign since the investigation.
Scott Olson—Getty ImagesTwo police officers were shot outside the Ferguson Police Department March 12, 2015, during a demonstration that followed the resignation of the agency’s embattled police chief. The two officers—one from Webster Groves, Mo., the other from St. Louis County—were seriously injured.Lawrence Bryant—St. Louis American/Reuters
