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Officers shot at during night of bloodshed in Ferguson marking anniversary of Michael Brown's death

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6:00 a.m.

St. Louis County police say two young males have been injured in what appears to have been a drive-by shooting near a monument to Michael Brown, who was shot to death a year ago.

Spokesman Shawn McGuire said in an email that the 17-year-old and 19-year-old males told officers they were walking around 2:15 a.m. Monday near the Canfield Apartments in Ferguson, Missouri, when an unknown black man shot at them from the back of a passing vehicle.

Police take cover behind a vehicle during a protest in Ferguson, Mo., Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015. The one-year anniversary of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson began with a march in his honor and ended with a protest that was interrupted by gunfire. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Police take cover behind a vehicle during a protest in Ferguson, Mo., Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015. The one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson began with a march in his honor and ended with a protest that was interrupted by gunfire. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

McGuire says the 17-year-old was shot in the chest and shoulder and the 19-year-old was shot in the chest. He says both are being treated at a hospital and that neither has life-threatening injuries.

The shootings come as the St. Louis suburb marks the anniversary of the killing of Brown, a black 18-year-old, by a white Ferguson police officer.

Map locates shooting of suspect in Ferguson, Missouri, on the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown's death; 2c x 3 inches; 96.3 mm x 76 mm;
Map locates shooting of suspect in Ferguson, Missouri, on the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death.

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2:30 a.m.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar says a man who opened fire on officers in Ferguson, Missouri, is in “critical, unstable” condition after being struck when the officers returned fire.

Belmar said at a news conference early Monday morning that plainclothes officers had been tracking the man, who they believed was armed, during a protest marking the anniversary of the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Belmar says the man approached the officers, who were in an unmarked police van, and opened fire. The officers returned fire from inside the vehicle. They then pursued the man on foot.

The chief says the man again fired on the officers. All four fired back.

The man was taken to a hospital, where Belmar said he was in surgery. The man was not immediately identified.

Belmar says the police shooting happened shortly after dozens of shots rang out around 11:15 p.m. Sunday, as protesters were gathered on West Florissant Avenue. The crowd went running for cover.

Brown, who was black and unarmed, was fatally shot by white Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson. A grand jury and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to prosecute Wilson, but the shooting touched off a national “Black Lives Matter” movement.

© 2015 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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