Two police officers were shot and critically wounded during protests in Ferguson, Missouri.
Reuters reported that the shooting occurred outside the Ferguson police headquarters during a protest rally in the wake of the resignation of Police Chief Thomas Jackson.
Neither officer shot was a member of the Ferguson Police Department.
FoxNews.com noted that St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the two officers, whose names have not yet been released, were shot early Thursday morning. One officer, a 32-year-old from nearby Webster Groves, was struck in the face and the other officer, a 41-year-old from St. Louis County, was hit by gunfire in the shoulder. Their injuries at this time are described as “very serious,” but not life-threatening.
"These police officers were standing there and they were shot, just because they were police officers," Belmar said.
Witnesses said that the gunfire did not come from the crowd, but rather atop a hill roughly 200 yards from the police station.
The city of Ferguson made national headlines last year after the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown by a white police officer. Protests across the country were ignited after Officer Darren Wilson was not charged in the shooting.