As tensions escalate, police officer shot in troubled U.S. suburb

A police officer was shot in the arm in Ferguson, Missouri, where the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen and a heavy police response triggered riots and national outrage. The officer was chasing a suspect outside the Ferguson Community Center on Saturday night when the person turned and shot him in the arm, St. Louis County Police Sergeant Brian Schellman said. The officer, who was treated at a local hospital, returned fire but apparently did not hit the suspect, Schellman said. The shooter disappeared into a nearby wooded area, eluding arrest.

The officer initiated a foot pursuit of the subject. During the foot pursuit, the subject spun toward the officer armed with a handgun, and fired shots at the officer.

Sergeant Brian Schellman, police spokesman

Several hours later, an off-duty St. Louis City police officer was shot at and suffered a minor arm injury from broken glass while driving on a nearby freeway in a personal car, police said. It was not immediately clear if the two shootings were related. Ferguson has seen large protests take place since Michael Brown, 18, was shot dead on August 9 by a white police officer. The college-bound teen was shot at least six times by police officer Darren Wilson and his body was left in the street for several hours before it was removed. On Thursday, Ferguson police chief Tom Jackson issued a video apology to Brown’s parents following weeks of heavy criticism and calls for his ouster.

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