welcome back everybody. you're watching "cnn newsroom." we have breaking news at this hour from ferguson missouri, where it's believed two police officers have been shot after a night of protests there outside the police department there in ferguson missouri. this is coming from the st. louis post dispatch and a number of other local news organizations saying that gunfire rang out about an hour or so ago. witnesses say they heard a number of shots being fired and now we have these reports from local media saying that these two police officers have been wounded. this was a protest which started in the wake of the resignation of the police chief there. he decided to step down after weeks and months of pressure. they were celebrating at one stage. they why also calling for the mayor, as well to step down.

with the police chief going it is now six city officials who have stepped down in the wake of that damning report from the department of justice. and so now we have a situation where two police officers at least, have been wounded. >> yeah. no word yet on the extent of those injuries or who is responsible. but we do know that these protests initially started off as peaceful and initially celebrating the resignation of thomas jackson. >> marcus law is a witness who was there. he joins us on the line. what did you hear? what did you see? >> caller: well i was walking, i had just returned to my phone, and i was going back towards the protesting. i was about probably 30 feet away from the crowd. and all of a sudden i heard at least four to five shots rang out. and i know the area, and i know

that the shots came from at least by the grassy area beyond the subway. so nowhere near the protesters. i'm thinking about, i'm trying to rebuild what happened. and it took me at least 30 seconds of watching before i realized there was an officer down. one, when i figured that out, i think everybody else kind of figured it out at the same point. we just began to run. the protesters we were not there to shoot cops. we don't like violence and so we did what anybody else would do. we ran away. >> so marcus were you not far from where the protesters were. and you believe you heard the direction from where the shots were fired and you believe it was behind the protesters. what was the reaction once the shots rang out from the police? how did they react? what did they do? >> caller: well, that was one of the things that i noticed as i

was running away. like i said it took me about, i was probably the fastest i've ever run in my life before i got in my car. as i was driving away all the cops were down on their knees with guns drawn. i could see several of them standing over what i think was the cop that was shot and they were lifting him away and pulling him away. and, you know that's really the last thing i saw before me or another car and i ran out of the lot. >> and up until this point, would you describe the protests had been mostly peaceful? i mean there had been a couple scuffles maybe one or two arrests. is that what you'd seen? >> caller: oh, in general? >> yes, up until the point the shots were fired, before the policeman was wounded. >> caller: yes. tonight was, well there's something in the air, but for the most part it was, it was very well you know coordinated. our usual leaders like alexis

and brittany why out there leading chants. there were a couple trouble makers from -- i don't know who they were. but one of our protesters was assaulted. but other than that it wasn't really anything to make a big deal out of and this just came out of nowhere. and again, as someone who's been there since august 12. no one condones violence and it was just i'm in shock. >> describe the scene where you are now. have things calmed down a little bit? >> caller: i'm actually at home. like i said it took about one minute before my survival instinct kicked in and i was heading 80 miles per hour on the way home i have to admit. >> and so marcus i guess most of the protesters have now scattered from the scene, and it's what been locked down by the police? it's now a crime scene i imagine. >> caller: i would think. two officers shot yeah.

from what i see, there are a couple noted protesters still there vining and tweeting. >> were there dozens of protesters or hundreds of protesters taking part? >> caller: at our peak at around 9:00 i think we had probably 75 to 100. it was a great. it was a very big cross section of the protest community, white, black, chanters drummers. then maybe 20 minutes before the shooting it had filtered down to about 40. it was definitely a thinned out crowd. >> and i understand that the protests are initially peaceful. but at what point candidate mood and the feeling sort of change? >> caller: i think it really depends on which group you were

in. i was at the front line the entire time with people who had been chanting since the beginning. and obs, spl. i can't say what the people behind me were doing. >> marcus a little earlier, you said there was something in the air. what did you mean by that? >> caller: well i don't know. you know i got a feeling back from the day of the decision. and you just kind of know that looking at some of the people who were there that there's different faces there, there were different shouts that were ringing out, other than you know ands up don't shoot, and showing you what democracy looks like. and you just get a feel that there's a different energy in the crowd. but that was, even if it was a different energy in the crowd, the shooting came from an

entirely different area. so to put that you know onto the protesters is completely unfair. >> look, at this point, marcus, and you make a good point. at this point we do not know who fired the gun. we do not know where the gun was fired from. from your perspective, and you're there you're saying as best as you can tell the shots rang out from a grassy area behind the group of protesters. and that then, begs the question, who that could have been and why they would have done it. does anybody have a working theory on that at this point? >> caller: no. and i can tell you not a single person in the community, protester or otherwise will condone that action and i certainly don't. we're going to have a long a high hill to battle now. and i don't know why that person decided to do that but i just want everybody to know that they

acted alone and with no protesters support whatsoever. >> what will be the ramifications from this? what are you expecting in terms of as far as how the police will respond, what the city authorities will be doing, what the county will be doing. there will be some kind of ramifications after this in the coming hours, in the coming days. what are you expecting? >> caller: well, i would hope it wouldn't overshadow what came out from the d.o.j. the other day that ferguson is an incredibly violent the police department. and i hope this wouldn't distract from that message. it's going to be hard to separate this from the protests but, you know do i expect them to come at it harder than unusual? using tear gas and mace? i was tear gassed and maced, can i say they bashed a protester on the head before thoughey arrested

her. i think they will take this opportunity to go back. >> you're saying you saw a protester attacked by one of the police officers? and we have to stress at this point we need to confirm that with the other side, what the actual circumstances involving that may in fact been. i'm not saying we're not taking your word for it. but that's one side of the story, and clearly the police would have a different version of events which we need to fine out from them. >> caller: absolutely. >> we appreciate you being on the line with us. you were at the protest. you were there for a number of hours. very quickly, when you heard those shots ring out, you say four to five shots what was the first thing that you thought it was? what did you think had happened? >> caller: well back in i guess it was november the day or two before the grand jury decision the crowds were

growing a little bit rowdier, and we had some fireworks thrown. i guess originally i thought it was just firecrackers and, again, when i saw the cop go down and i saw the cops draw their guns i thought, no this is far worse. >> it is. it is far worse. the word we're getting from the st. louis post dispatch, two officers have been shot. their condition at this point is unknown. marcus law, a witness on the phone, we appreciate you being on the phone with us. we appreciate the details you have given the last few minutes. and just to repeat in case you are just joining us right now. shots have been heard outside the police department in ferguson missouri. marcus law who was actually on the scene and who's taken part in what was up until that point a mostly peaceful protest. he says he heard four to five shots coming from an area behind the protests. as far as marcus is concerned, he believes the protesters were not involved in this shooting.

of course we don't know. there will be an investigation to find out exactly what happened here. >> the shots rang out in an area nowhere near the protesters. he doesn't want the protesters to be blamed for this. he doesn't want the police officers to come at the protesters even harder than they already are. sew so we'll see what the ramifications are. >> even though there were no more than 100 protesters for the evening, the police were equipped with riot gear. so there was obviously the fear or the expectation that something like this could turn violent. >> right. >> and it does seem that -- >> it is interesting, because -- >> -- now come true. >> we're hearing the protesters turn violent with the shots ringing out. but the police chief did end up resigning along with the city manager. there have been several other resignations. and we initially heard that the protesters were celebrating. so why this shift? >> and marcus law who was part

of the loatheprotest group. this is where he's coming from. he sounded very reasonable gave us great information about what happened. but as far as he sees it, he believes that this gunshot, the four or five shots which were fired at the police he believes it had nothing to do with the protest. obviously, we do not know that for certain. but he says that from where he was, it came from an area far away from the protesters. and of course you know how the situation that whole area will be on lockdown. it's a crime scene. the police have taken up positions, and, of course we now have this report that we have yet to confirm, but it is coming to us from a number of local media outlets in ferguson missouri that two police officers have been shot. we did in fact see an ambulance leaving the area with its lights on an indication that there was a serious injury at least to one of those men. and of course still very early

to fined out what exactly has happened. and the reaction from the police is something too, that we need to keep an eye on. >> this all follows news of the ferguson police chief stepping down a week after that scathing report issued by the justice department with the racist e-mails and targeting african-americans. >> yes, essentially it was systemic problems within the city's police department and the municipal court system. sara sidner has more now on the months of turmoil that have led up to this. >> we just need you to resign. >> reporter: after calls for his resignation, the chief says he's stepping down. >> jackson came under fire almost immediately after darren wilson a white ferguson police officer, shot and killed michael brown, an unarmed black teenager after a scuffle between the two. the anger began on the first day when brown's body wasn't removed for hours.

the initial anger grew when jackson refused to reveal the nail of the police officer who shot and killed brown. nearly a week later, when he did, the name officer darren wilson he used the same news conference to release surveillance video of brown stealing a pack of cigars while assaulting the clerk. >> you have a police chief that comes out, and it sounded in the initial press conference is he the police chief or the defense attorney. >> reporter: the missteps continued. a month later jackson recorded an apology. >> i'm truly sorry for the loss of your son. >> reporter: rejected by brown's family as too little too late. that night he met with protesters agreeing to march with them, but even that meeting turned ugly. despite all this jackson repeatedly said that he was the

right man for the job. >> i intend to see this thing through, and i've been working with a lot of community members to work on some progressive changes that will bring the community together. >> reporter: then last week the justice department released the results of its investigation into the ferguson police department disproportionately high traffic stops and arrests of black people and several racist e-mails cununcovered. and this the revelation the department systematically raised city revenues through aggressive ticketing with blacks being hit the hardest. jackson noting that one month the department passed the 2 million mark for the first time in history. shortly after its release, i caught up with thomas jackson who would not respond to repeated requests for an interview. are you planning on resigning? >> i will let you know. >> reporter: are you thinking about it? >> i've told you that. >> reporter: you haven't told us anything. we now know that somebody within

the department lieutenant colonel eickhoff will be taking over. they will be looking at a nationwide search for a new chief of police. sara sidner new york. the news from ferguson missouri this hour, four to five gunshots have been heard by witnesses and reports of two officers being wounded. this all comes in the wake of the resignation of the police chief. and earlier, brianna keilar spoke with a round table. here's part of that conversation. >> what's your reaction to chief jackson's resignation today? >> immediately, i felt that this was long overdue. and my real concern is because i just can't understand how he did not step down earlier, but we need to deal with the culture issue here to make sure that whoever's coming in behind chief jackson is not just a new face and a new name on the same type

of issues. we need to seriously deal with the culture of the police department of the municipal courts and the way that the city is run. so him stepping down is good but it's long overdue. >> so what else does it take because since the justice department report came out, we've seen a city manager go a municipal court clerk and municipal court judge. who else needs to go? >> they highlight the director of finance even sends memos to the police chief saying hey we really need some more revenue here. and the person who oversees the budget and finances for the city certainly needs to be somebody who doesn't feel that getting in touch with the police department to target more individuals is the way to get financing for the city. >> jeff did you see this resignation as necessary in order to bridge this huge chasm when it comes to the public in ferguson and the police

department there? >> well apparently tom did, you know tom has said repeatedly and publicly that he wanted to stay the course wanted to be part of the solution going forward and the healing going forward, and you know it just my reading and from talking to folks in ferguson today and in governmental capacities is that tom thought that his presence after the d.o.j. report would be more of a distraction than an opportunity to move forward. >> don, you spent -- >> patricia's exactly right. >> go on. >> there's a need for reform in the courts there. those e-mails should never have been tolerated. it's good the mayor's asked for the resignations. but let's remember that tom jackson was accused initially of being in command of a department where one of his officers gunned down a young black man in cold blood who was trying to surrender, and now the

revelation is that they write into many tickets and that there were e-mails september before his tenure that were reprehensible. >> that's what that uncovered. that's what the whole michael brown uncovered that. the narrative about, you know, the police department having a disconnect in targeting people that came up very quickly after the killing of michael brown. almost as soon as we hit the ground in ferguson missouri. so initially, yes, that was what you know that they said that he was in charge of a police department with an officer who had gunned down an unarmed black man. but very quickly after that people started protesting and saying we're tired of the police department. we feel like in many ways they are overseers and we are the people that they are overseeing. the only interaction we have with them is when it's negative. there's no real community policing here. >> is this what they wanted? >> yes, it's what community members wanted. but a lot of people had called for the resignation of the mayor today. and they thought he would come out today. they've been calling for his

resignation for longer than today, but they thought that he would come out today during this press conference and would possibly resign. and i think it's important. i think sara sidner and also sunny hostin pointed out something very important. we talk about those 26 recommendations from the department of justice. as sunny said those recommendations aren't really recommendations. that's a nice way of saying this is what you must do in order to get your department in order. and if they cannot financially support that then that may mean the dissolution of that department. it may dissolve. so they've got to figure out a way to fund this. i think it's a nice way of saying as sunny said you need to do this in order to keep the department. and errol barnett at cnn center. we are following breaking news at this hour out of ferguson missouri. there have been reports of gunfire just outside the city's police department. cnn is still trying to confirm

this still-developing story. we go have some live pictures earlier from the area. at this moment those pictures aren't up. as soon as we get them we will bring them to you. but we can tell you that the st. louis post dispatch is reporting that two police officers have been shot. this was the scene there much earlier in the day, before there was any gunfire. the protests or really demonstrations outside the police department were peaceful for the most part until this small scuffle broke out. much later in the evening, on social media, there were reports that shots were fired from the protesters toward police. as the hours have moved on one witness tells us those shots did not actually come from protesters. but from a grass, a grassy area nearby. we do have a witness on the line with us now, though to bring us up to speed on what's happened just in this past hour or so. chris king joins us on the

phone. he's the managing editor of the st. louis american one of the oldest african-american papers. what can you tell us chris, about what you've seen happen tonight? >> caller: i'm sorry, to correct you, i'm not a witness of the event. i've been following it as a managing editor from home all night. and i'm well aware of many of the people that saw it themselves. but i i'm not, i can't offer you any eyewitness testimony. >> okay. well let's at the very least stack up the sequence of events. we know that today or at least i should say wednesday is when we saw chief thomas jackson step down in the wake of that scathing department of justice report which characterized the department in ferguson as essentially a collection agency for the courts there. what was the mood and reaction after his resignation as demonstrators were outside of the police headquarters?

>> caller: well it's complicated. everyone's been asking for chief jackson to resign since august 10th, really. and it it's accepted as good news that he's gone. it doesn't solve anything really. but it's accepted as a step in the right direction. understand that there were new people at the protest tonight, and understand, it was winding down when this happened. everyone that i was in touch with all night was packing up to leave. and so this was not like there was an escalating tension that resulted in gunfire. it was a protest with some new people. and of course extraordinary circumstances, because this police chief was leaving the office in a week. but things were winding down and gunfire came from not from the protest group. everyone has told me that but from away. so this is someone who was waiting for a moment apparently for things to quiet down where they had a clear shot

at the cops. >> now you, i presume were you there in the wake of the michael brown shooting when there were protests over that injustice, and it really exploded into a larger demonstration from residents that they were being mistreated by the police department. this department of justice civil rights report released last week has confirmed that. but what have solme of the steps taken locally since then done to reassure residents that the kind of change they've been protesting for is coming? i'm just trying to get a sense of what the mood is there as person by person this police department changes. >> caller: you have to understand the problems are systematic. so the solutions will be systematic. very very importantly, the missouri supreme court has taken the municipal court cases away from ferguson given them to an appellate judge in the circuit court. this is very important, because what ferguson's been doing what many municipalities do in the

st. louis region where they use their police force as sort of armed tax collectors to drive revenue through the municipal courts into the covers of the city government. these are municipalities that do not have adequate tax base. as the tax base has dwindled as manufacturing jobs -- >> all right, it appears that we've lost our connection there with chris king the managing editor of the st. louis american. chris, if you can still hear me pick up on that systemic issue, unfortunately, no. we don't have him at the moment but we will try to get him back on the line. if you are just joining us we are following breaking news out of ferguson missouri where there have been reports of gunfire outside the city's police department which followed a relatively small demonstration, and in fact witnesses telling us that the crowds were getting even smaller at the time gunfire was heard. we are citing a local paper

there, the st. louis post dispatch which is reporting that two police officers were shot and in some images earlier, and in the footage you can see now, police do have their weapons ready as they stand on alert. chris king manager of the st. louis american i understand is back on the phone with us. we talking about how residents may feel now that chief jackson has stepped down and some court clerks have resigned. you were making the point that the real problem is systemic whyin the region. >> caller: yes, it is. and the missouri spleem courtoissouri supreme court has taken the municipal cases away and given them to an appellate court. the police are victims of this system just like the people they police. because the police are being driven the ticket people to raise revenue for the city. this is a perversion of police. police work should be for public

safety not to generate revenue. and we are just seeing the beginning of a predatory court system being dismantled. and ferguson is the beginning of that. and the department of justice report is what started us on the road to reform. and people on the streets will gradually understand these changes. but it's going to be gradual. but it starts now. >> so then help us circle this square then chris. if people are wanting to see the type of change that's happening. they understand it will take some time they they were relieved and to some degree to see the department of justice do what it said it would do and get to the bottom of what was really the problem in ferguson. if everybody's happy as far as that's concerned, what would provoke someone who early indication was wasn't part of this protesting group to try and set things off at such a volatile time i remember during the time of the protests of michael brown it was alleged that outside pro vok tours were

the ones coming into town trying to loot and trying to shoot. why would that happen? >> caller: well it's difficult to speculate when we don't know who pulled the trigger. and oddly, there's a grassy knoll here because the shot came from a grassy area just like the jfk shooting. to go back to the outside agitators, there's truth to that. our reporter was one of the first to witness it. there were outside groups that came in with the idea of a molotov cocktail which you'd never heard of in ferguson or st. louis before, and they were arsonists. riot chasers in national organizations that i won't name. i won't help recruit for them. but they were active and i saw one of the people from this group in a vine video tonight. so some of these people i call riot chasers were there tonight.

and i can't say they pulled the trigger because i don't know. but there are people who like to go places where people are fighting police anywhere notice world, anywhere in the country, and they certainly came to ferguson. and some of them have stayed. and one of them i know was there tonight. >> but what is the motivation for these so-called riot chasers to get into the middle of such an emotionally volatile place in time? >> caller: well understand there are people that believe that a violent revolution is what's needed in this country. these are not ferguson protesters, god forbid but there are people who have this ideology and they go to these places where people are confronting police and technically, there's the idea from the far left that the patrol tear atin this country is the black underclass using very crude terms but when you have people who have been harassed by the police being thrown into municipal court being harassed treated poorly that's where they think the revolution is going to come from.

and i think they're very very misguided. but there are people with that idea who have been in ferguson from the beginning. and we've seen them pop up here and there, and i say i saw some of them tonight. >> and we don't know exactly what's happened. we're listening to chris king. the managing editor of the st. louis american. as we watch now, live pictures from ferguson missouri where we can see police officers were helmets and weapons in their hands around police tape and a number of police vehicles. just a few hours or an hour after we've received reports that shots were fired. and we're seeing reports from the st. louis post dispatch that two police officers were shot. i also want to bring our viewers this update via christine bias. she's sending out messages at this moment saying that both police officers shot tonight are expected to survive. so at this hour it does seem as if a relatively peaceful

demonstration in a city that's slowly changing shots were fired. the person we've just been listening to, chris king with the st. louis american saying that during previous protests these so-called riot insert themselves into the atmosphere and insert themselves into both sides. now we're seeing that shots were fired towards police on a day when once again things could set off in ferguson missouri. we did hear from one other witness earlier, marcus law, who was a protester who claimed that while he was there the mood was peaceful and that the shots he heard came from a grassy area away from where the protesters are. this story continuing to break in the late hours. it's 1:30 in the morning in ferguson missouri. and this is a city going through massive change after a scathing

report by the department of justice just last week which found that there was an essentially institutional racism. although this is a city with around two third african-american population african-americans were 80% to 90% likely to be ticketed for things like manner while walking. only african-americans were bitten by police dogs and parking fines were turned into jail time because some residents weren't able to pay and show up to court and would face additional fees. the attorney general eric holder issuing that scathing report and saying that ferguson missouri was in fact a collection agency for the courts. and we were just listening to chris king there, the managing editor of the st. louis american who said this is not just a ferguson missouri issue. we're going to get more information, confirm what we

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updating our breaking news for you this hour out of the u.s. in ferguson missouri. there are reports of gunfire outside the city's police department. right now you're looking at live pictures coming to us from ferguson where it's just past 1:30 in the morning. the gunfire happened during a protest after the city's police chief announced his resignation. the st. louis post dispatch is

now reporting two police officers have been shot. and a police source tells the dispatch that both officers are expected to survive. we continue to look for confirmed information. and when we get an update on this continuing story we will bring it to you live. two men on death row in indonesia will have to wait just a bit longer to fight their execution. the australian nationals are part of the so-called bali nine. they were sentenced but never told why. lawyers for the men appeared in court today to ask for an appeal to that decision but the hearing was postponed until next week. let's bring in simon lawson with more on this. and representatives for the attorney general didn't appear. but the attorney general also clarifying that the men will be executed together which is quite ominous. what exactly happened today?

>> reporter: yeah, errol, today was their final appeal. they are in the isolated prison island off the coast of java. that's where all the people facing the death penalty have been collected. they will wait to execute everyone in one batch, so to speak, which sounds pretty grim. and that is the grim reality that's facing andrew chin and my orren sycamoren today. so they were holding out for appeal. their lawyer shows up in judge. the chief judge read out both of their written appeals from each man individually and then it was announced that the attorney general's representatives were unable to represent joe coe

individual what dodo's position. everyone trying their best the australian government and the islamic scholars trying to step in. >> you can imagine their hearts sinking. literally their lives are on the line here. you have these men characterized as completely reformed men. prime minister tony abbott going so far as to speak on their behalf and push the local government to take leniency but so far, nothing's made a difference. you wonder what would. >> reporter: yeah you really do. this is the 11th hour. and let me remind everyone that we didn't even think that these two men were going to get an appeal. and why does everyone care? because of course they are convicted drug smugglers. they were the ringleaders of the bali nine. it's undeniable that they did

try to get more than 9 kilograms of drugs. what they're saying is that they shouldn't face the death penalty. they shouldn't face death by firing squad. the australian government has done its best. they've offered a prisoner swap. they've offered to pay for, if the death penalty is commuted to a life imprisonment sentence to pay for that so that the indonesian government isn't paying to keep them in prison. but so far, the foreign minister of australia said they haven't had a response. and then also just yesterday, a day before this appeal tuesday, the, wednesday, rather jakarta, a team of islamic scholars flew in from australia in jakarta to make an appeal to the president, appealing of course not only to the president but to an

indonesian nation that is the largest muslim population on earth saying look, we as islamic sklars believe that they should be given mercy. we agree that three are criminals and they should be punished. but please, don't let please men face death by firing squad. these aren't the only two. we mentioned at the beginning there are other foreign nationals, a french man, a brazilian person and a number of indonesian nationals as well facing death by firing squad. and human rights appealing for all of them not to face that. >> the prime minister not being budged at all despite that. live for us on this developing story. we'll stay connected throughout the day. now back to our breaking news story this hour out of the u.s. in ferguson missouri.

there have been reports of gunfire outside the city's police department on what has been a momentous day. this happened after the police chief announced his resignation. something people here have been asking for for a long long time. the st. louis police department just sent a tweet confirming in fact that two police officers were shot at during those demonstrations and even they say their condition's not known. so we're trying to confirm everything through them and other officials. and they saying at this hour they don't know the conditions around the shooting. we also have been talking to witnesses to get more details on what unfolded. here's what one of them had to say. >> caller: we saw the muzzle fire from a gun atop of the street. so we all just kind of ducked down. and once we did that we saw the cop was shot right next to us.

>> we also spoke with a witness on the phone a short time ago who was part of the demonstrations mark lara and he said he heard four to five shots being fired. there are also video clips. some of you on social media online will have already seen where you can hear some of what sounds like gunfire. st. louis police saying it was in fact shots. the two police officers we understand don't have life-threatening injuries. but the key question is who fired the shots? and why? at such a sensitive time for ferguson missouri a city where the police is aiming to earn the trust of residents and the court system has essentially had all of its cases taken away from it so that high level court could address what eric holder described as police force acting as a collection agency for the city as a way of raising funds. when you look at that report and

look back toward the protests of last year you understand the frustration and anger so many had saying they weren't just upset about one unarmed teen being killed but the entire treatment residents felt under the leadership of chief jackson, who has now stepped down. now earlier we spoke on the phone with a witness to the shooting. that is marcus layerer. here's what he had to say. >> caller: well i was walking, i had just returned to my phone, and i was going back towards the protesting. i was about probably 30 feet away from the crowd. and all of a sudden i heard at least four to five shots ring out. i know that area. and i know that the shots came from at least by the grassy area beyond the subway so nowhere near the protesters. and i mean i'm thinking about, i'm trying to rebuild what happened. and it took me at least 30 seconds of watching before i realized there was an officer

down. when i figured that out, i think everybody else kind of figured it out at the same point. we just began to run. the protesters we were not there to shoot cops. we don't like violence and so we did what anybody else would do runaway. >> so marcus you were not far from where the protesters were, ah you brief that you heard the direction that the shots were being fired and it was from behind the protesters. what was the reaction once the shots rang out from the police how did they react? what did they do? >> caller: well, that was one of the things i noticed as i was running away like i said it took me about, i was probably the fastest i've ever run in my life before i got in my car. and as i was driving away, all the cops were down on their knees with guns drawn. i could see several of them bending over what i think was the cop that was shot and they were lifting him away and pulling him away and, you know

that's really the last thing i saw before me and or the other cars and i ran out of the lot. >> and up until this point, would you describe the protests had been mostly peaceful? i mean there had been a couple of scuffles maybe one or two arrests. is that what you'd seen? >> caller: oh, you mean in general or -- >> yeah up until the point when the shots were fired and the policeman was wounded. >> caller: yes, tonight was -- well, there was something in the air, but for the most part, it was very well you know coordinated. there were our usual leertds, like alexis and brittany were out there leading chants. there were a couple troublemakers from -- i don't know. i don't even know who they were but one of our protesters was assaulted. but other than that it wasn't anything to make a big deal out of, and this just came out of nowhere, and, again, as someone who's been there since august

12 no one condones violence. and it was just i'm in shock. >> of course not. but describe the scene where you are now. have things calmed down a little bit? >> caller: i'm actually at home. like i said it took about one minute before my survival instinct kicked in and i was heading 80 miles per hour on the way home i have to admit. >> i guess most of the protesters have now scattered from the scene and it's being locked down by the police. it's now a crime scene i imagine. >> caller: i would think. two officers shot yeah. from what i see there are a couple noted protesters still there tweeting and vining. so they might be a good person to be in touch with. >> so the vast majority of the protesters were there dozens or hundreds of protesters who were taking part?

>> caller: at our peak, around 9:00 i think we had probably 75 to 100. it was a great it was a very big cross section of the protest community, white black, you know chanters singers, drummers. and then maybe 20 minutes before the shooting it had filtered down to about 40. there was definitely a thinned-out crowd. >> and i understand that the protests were initially peaceful. but at what point did the mood and feeling sort of change? >> caller: i think that really depends on what group you were in. i was at the front line the entire line videoing people who have been chanting since the beginning. obs, fpl. i can't speak to the crowd behind me because that's not what i was there for, and i was not going to let that distract

me. >> marcus a little earlier you said there was something in the air. what did you mean by that? >> caller: well i don't know. you know i got that same feeling back the day of the decision. and you just kind of you just kind of know that looking at some of the people who were there that there are different faces there. there are different shouts that are ringing out other than you know hands up don't shoot and we'll show you what democracy looks like. and you get the feel that there's a different energy in the crowd. but, again, even if it was a different energy in the crowd, the shooting came from a totally different area. so to put that you know onto the protesters is completely unfair. >> look, at this point, marcus and you make a good point. at this point, we do not know who fired the gun. we do not know where the gun was fired from. from your perspective, and you're there, you're saying that

as best as you can tell the shots rang out from a grassy area behind the group of protesters. and that then begs the question who that could have been and why they would have done it. does anybody have a working theory on that at this point? >> caller: no. and i can tell you not a single person in the community protester or otherwise will condone that action. and i certainly don't. we're going to have a long or a high hill to battle now. and i don't know why that person decided to do that but i just want everybody to know that they acted alone and with no protester support whatsoever. >> what will be the ramifications from this? what are you expecting in terms as far as how the police will respond, what the city authorities will be doing, what the county will be doing, will there be some -- there will be some kind of ramifications after

this in the coming hours, in the coming days. what are you expecting? >> caller: well i would hope it wouldn't overshadow what came out from the d.o.j. the other day, which showed that ferguson is an incredibly violent and abusive police department and i would hope that this wouldn't distract from that message. it's going to be hard to separate this from the protests but, you know do i expect them to come at us harder than unusual? well we were tear gassed and maced. i was tear gassed and maced. tonight they actually bashed a protester on the head before they arrested her. so they will take this opportunity to strike back seriously and harsher. because they're scared. and a scared cop is a dangerous cop. >> so you're saying that you saw a protester who was hit by a

police officer. i'm not saying we're not taking your word for it. that's one side of the story and clearly the police would have a different version of events which we need to find out from them. >> caller: absolutely. >> we appreciate you being on the line with us marcus. you have been at the protest. you were there for a number of hours. and just one last question very very quickly. when you heard those shots ring out, you say four to five shots, what was the first thing that you thought it was? what did you think had happened? >> caller: well back in i guess it was november the day or two before the grand jury decision the crowds were growing a little bit rowdier, and we had some fireworks thrown. i guess originally i thought it was just firecrackers and, again, when i saw the cops go down and i saw the cops draw their guns i thought, no. this is far worse. >> marcus lehrer a witness

there. if you're just joining us, there are reports that there have been gunshots toward police. in fact let's go to a live press conference now. we see one police official updating media from the hospital. >> as far as tonight goes probably 60 70 people that were out there. it wasn't all that remarkable compared to some of the things that we've experienced over the last few months but there were quite a few people in the roadway, sidewalks, et cetera. there was a contingent of police officers. they were up there from different agencies assisting ferguson. and the night was fairly uneventful up until midnight. at midnight the crowd was starting to break up. in fact some of the officers had left the area. and to the immediate north-northwest of the ferguson police department several shots were fired, at least three.

and two officers were struck. st. louis county officer was struck in the shoulder and a webster groves officer was struck in the face. both those officers are here right now. they're being treated. i don't have an official status on what their condition is right now. they are conscious. however, those are very serious gunshot injuries to be able to sustain in your upper torso and certainly in your face. so they're being treated right now. family is with them. the officers will not be identified at this point, other than the fact that the st. louis police officer is 41 years old, a 14 year veteran of law enforcement. and then we have the webster groves officer who is 32 years old, and he's been even the department for approximately five years. so i would like to underscore if i could for a minute. you know we have had an occasion to be involved in many of the events in ferguson since

the, since michael brown was killed, and i think we've been very fortunate as we've moved forward not to have similar instances like this happen to us. but i have said all along that we cannot sustain this forever without problems. that's not an indictment on everybody that's out there certainly expressing their first amendment rights. but we have seen in law enforcement that this is a very very very dangerous environment for the officers to work in regarding the amount of gunfire that we have experienced up there. now this evening, the only shots that we were aware of were the shots that were taken from across the street. in other words, these police officers were standing there. and they were shot. just because they were police officers. we are conducting an investigation right now, and i'll have more on that later on today. i'll ask a couple questions here real quick. >> reporter: and to be clear, these were not the people who were exercising their first

amendment rights who did the shooting. >> i don't know who did the shooting to be honest with you right now. but somehow they were embedded in that group of folks. >> reporter: do you have a suspect description at all? >> i don't. >> reporter: do you know exactly where those police officers were standing? were they behind the police department? >> no they were on south florissant road that's best estimate i have right now without talking to my detectives. i've not been up to the scene this evening yet. >> reporter: can you tell if they were targeted or can you tell if this was shots fired in the crowd? >> i would have to make an assumption right now that based on the fact that these officers were standing together and there were several officers standing right there together when this happened that, you know these were shots that were parallel to the ground, not up in the air, they weren't skipped shots. and i would have to make an assumption that these shots were directed exactly at my police officers. >> reporter: do you know how

many police officers were standing together? >> several. i don't have the answer to that right now. >> reporter: and as far as the type of gun that was used? >> i don't know that either. we'll figure that out. >> two more real quick. he's got to get back inside. >> reporter: what kind of security level can we expect from this point. obviously things have become volatile. what can you tell residents and citizens to expect? >> i would argue at times it's been very volatile. it's very difficult to sustain this without injury to the public our community, and without injuries to our police officers. and i think we need to reevaluate that. that's one of the things that i have been doing since my phone rang at midnight tonight. so we're going to be looking for different ways to approach this. i, obviously, my first priority is to the community, but that's followed very very closely to my police officers and making sure that they're able to do what they're supposed to do out there in a safe matter. ladies and gentlemen, we'll be able to talk to you later on

today. so thank you for your time. >> reporter: thank you. st. louis police chief addressing reporters outside the hospital where two officers who were shot are recovering new information. there were shots fired suspected to be from the protesting crowd, he said no. it was fired north-northwest of the police department. two officers were hit in their upper torso, a 44-year-old officer shot in the shoulder and a 32-year-old officer shot in the face. he did say, though both officers are expected to survive. there are a number of police officers from close by jurisdiction who are helping out, continuing security there at the scene. he went back inside but made the point that other than for this shooting the demonstration outside the police department wasn't remarkable. wasn't anything different or worse than what they've seen before. last year in the wake of the

death of 18 year old michael brown. but certainly, questions remain as to who fired those shots, and, well tonight, it's just approaching 2:00 in the morning in ferguson missouri continue to be a quiet one? we'll continue to gather new information and confirm what we can for you on this breaking story. do stay with us on cnn. we'll have more after this short break. o work hard, know your numbers, and stay focused. i was determined to create new york city's first self-serve frozen yogurt franchise. and now you have 42 locations. the more i put into my business the more i get out of it. like 5x your rewards when you make select business purchases with your ink plus card from chase. and with ink, i choose how to redeem my points for things like cash or travel. how's the fro-yo? just peachy...literally. ink from chase. so you can.

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