Two St. Louis-area police officers have been shot overnight in front of the Ferguson Police Department.
St. Louis County Police Chief John Belmar addressed the media outside Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis where two officers were being treated after being shot outside the Ferguson Police Department early the morning of Thursday, March 12, 2015.
St. Louis County Police Chief John Belmar told reporters outside the St. Louis hospital where the two officers were being treated this morning, the evening had been “fairly uneventful” until about midnight, just minutes before the shooting.
“Several shots were fired, at least three, and two officers were struck. A St. Louis County officer was struck in the shoulder and a Webster Groves Police officer was struck in the face,” said Belmar.
The conditions of the officers have not been reported, but they were said to have been conscious and with family earlier this morning.
Belmar said the Webster Groves officer is 32-years-old and a five-year veteran of the force. The St. Louis County officer is 41-years-old and a 14-year veteran.
Belmar said a suspect description is not available but said he believed the shots came from where people were protesting.
“I don’t know who did the shooting to be honest with you right now, but somehow they were embedded in that group of folks,” said Belmar.
He believes his officers were targeted.
“I would have to make an assumption right now that based on the fact that these officers were standing together and there were several officers standing right there together when this happened that these were shots that were parallel to the ground, not up in the air or not at, they weren’t skip shots, and I would have to make an assumption that these shots were directed exactly at my police officers.”
Investigators are still at the scene of that shooting this morning.
CAUTION: The raw video below is raw and contains language that could be considered offensive to some viewers. Courtesy, Youtube User Kerry Picket
