US police: Man shot near Ferguson protest critically injured

A man who opened fire on officers in Ferguson, Missouri, on the anniversary of an unarmed black teen's death was critically wounded when the officers shot back, St. Louis County's police chief said today.
Chief Jon Belmar said at a news conference that officers had been tracking the man, who they believed was armed, during a protest marking the death of Michael Brown's, the 18-year-old whose killing by a white Ferguson police officer touched off a national debate over police treatment of minorities and the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
The anniversary of Brown's killing has sparked days of renewed protests, though until Sunday they had been peaceful and without any arrests. For the first time in three consecutive nights of demonstrations, some officers were dressed in riot gear, including bullet-proof vests and helmets with shields. Police at one point early Monday shot smoke to disperse a lingering crowd, Belmar said.

The shooting happened shortly after what the chief called "an exchange of gunfire between two groups" rang out around 11:15 p.M. Yesterday while protesters were gathered in a business zone that saw rioting and looting last year after Brown's killing. The shots sent protesters and reporters running for cover.
The man approached the officers, who were in an unmarked police van, and opened fire, Belmar said. The officers returned fire from inside the vehicle and then pursued the man on foot when he ran.
The man again fired on the officers, the chief said, and all four officers fired back. He was struck and fell.

The man was taken to a hospital, where Belmar said he was in "critical, unstable" condition. Authorities didn't immediately release the identities of anyone involved, but Tyrone Harris told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the injured man was his son, 18-year-old Tyrone Harris Jr.

The elder Harris told the newspaper shortly after 3 a.M. that his son had just gotten out of surgery.
None of the officers was seriously injured. All four have been put on standard administrative leave. They were not wearing body cameras, Belmar said.
The chief said an estimated six shooters unleashed a "remarkable" amount of gunfire over about 45 seconds. Belmar waved off any notion that the people with the weapons were part of the protest.

"They were criminals. They weren't protesters," he said. The man who fired on officers had a semi-automatic 9MM gun that was stolen last year from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, according to the chief.