At least 2 people shot after protest in Ferguson turns violent

The scene in Ferguson, Missouri.
(Image credit: Twitter.com/CaseyNolen)

Late Sunday, at least 15 gunshots rang out during a demonstration marking the first anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

At least two people were hit, KMOV St. Louis reports, and their conditions are unknown. When the shooting began at 11:15 p.m., protesters were at a standoff with police. Demonstrators, officers, and reporters all quickly ran for cover, with some darting under and behind parked cars. In a statement, the St. Louis County Police Department said there was an "officer-involved shooting after officers came under heavy gunfire. We are working as quickly as possible to get details of the incident."

The shooting took place after the city's interim police chief finished a televised interview where he said officers were out in the community protecting businesses, and would let demonstrators protest as long as they were peaceful.

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UPDATE 4 a.m.: During a press conference early Monday, Chief Jon Belmar said that one man was shot by St. Louis County police after he fired shots at an unmarked SUV. He is in critical, unstable condition, and is in surgery. Belmar said the shots were fired by four plainclothes officers who were not wearing body cameras. The officers will be placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, and were at the protest looking for possible shooters. Belmar said he is unsure how many shots were fired and by how many guns, but there were several people shooting. "As a community, we can't sustain this," he said.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.