Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers stand posted at the corner of Chambers Road and West Florissant Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo., as police search for a suspect in the shooting of a Ferguson police officer.
St. Louis activist Anthony Shahid confronts councilman Steve Stenger during the St. Louis County Council on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014, in Clayton, Mo.FERGUSON, Mo. – A Ferguson police officer was shot in the arm Saturday night after encountering two men at a community center who ran from him and then opened fire during a foot chase, authorities said.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a media briefing early Sunday that the officer approached the men around 9:10 p.m. because the community center was closed. As the officer approached, the men ran away. When the officer gave chase, “one of the men turned and shot,” Belmar said.
The officer was shot in the arm and is expected to survive, he said. Belmar did not identify the officer or give further details about his condition. He said the officer returned fire but said police have “no indication” that either suspect was shot.
A search was underway for the suspects early Sunday in Ferguson, the St. Louis suburb that’s been the scene of racial unrest in the wake of the August shooting death of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white police officer.
Belmar said he did not think the officer’s shooting was related to two separate protests about Michael Brown’s shooting that were going on Saturday night around the same time.