US police: Man shot near Ferguson protest critically injured

The violence, which also included a drive-by shooting and police being pelted with objects, prompted St Louis County to declare a state of emergency. Protest groups were quick to criticize the police response to protesters who gathered late Sunday along West Florissant Avenue.

Police, protesters and people who live and work in the St. Louis suburb were bracing for what nightfall might bring following more violence along West Florissant Avenue, the same thoroughfare that was the site of massive protests and rioting after Brown was fatally shot last year in a confrontation with a white Ferguson officer. Police shot and critically wounded one suspect, 18-year-old Tyrone Harris Jr., after he allegedly shot through the windshield of an unmarked police van with four plainclothes officers inside.

The plainclothes officers returned fire, striking the suspect, Belmar said. Police say the suspect was not part of the weekend’s rallies, which have been peaceful.

The four officers in the van fired back, then pursued the suspect on foot. He was struck and fell.

The man, was hospitalised in a critical, unstable condition, and was undergoing surgery, Chief Jon Belmar told reporters on Monday.

Harris said his son got caught up in a dispute among two groups of young people and was “running for his life” after gunfire broke out.

No officers were injured, the department said. They have been placed on administrative leave. They were not wearing body cameras.

The anniversary of 18-year-old Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri, began with a solemn march in his honor and ended with a protest that grew increasingly confrontational before it was interrupted by gunfire.

Members of the St. Louis County Police Department take cover at a protest in Ferguson, Mo., Sunday, August 9, 2015.

The chief said an estimated six shooters unleashed a “remarkable” amount of gunfire over about 45 seconds.

Wilson was cleared of any wrongdoing, further enraging protesters.

“They were criminals. They weren’t protesters”, he said.

Belmar said the suspect who fired on officers had a semi-automatic 9 mm gun that was stolen last year from Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

‘There is a small group of people out there that are intent on making sure that we don’t have peace that prevails, ‘ he said. “There are a lot of emotions”. “We can’t sustain this as a community”, he said adding, “We can’t afford to have this kind of violence”.

One year on, black leaders say they have witnessed a dramatic change in American attitudes toward race, but see little action by lawmakers to enact policing reforms.

For the first time in three consecutive nights of demonstrations, some officers were dressed in riot gear, including bulletproof vests and helmets with shields. Harris’ father said the teenager had been close to Michael Brown, the St.

A crowd of about 300 people had gathered earlier to mark the anniversary, during which they observed four and a half minutes of silence and released two white doves.

Several events earlier Sunday marked the anniversary of the killing, which cast greater scrutiny on how police interact with black communities. A grand jury and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to prosecute Wilson, who resigned in November.

Later, a few hundred people turned out at Greater St. Mark Family Church for a service to remember Brown, with his father joining other relatives sitting behind the pulpit.

On a day of civil disobedience called by activists in Missouri on Monday, several people were arrested after jumping barricades at a courthouse in St. Louis, news video reports showed.