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hey there, everyone. i'm errol barnett at cnn center. >> and i'm zain asher. welcome back to our breaking news from energysonferguson missouri. >> now two police officers were shot outside the police department. one was from the st. louis county police department. the other from a town of webster groves. there were a number of jurisdictions at this police department because the chief of that department spoke to the media and said both officers are conscious. one was shot in the shoulder. the other shot in the face. the officers were helping with the crowds in ferguson during a protest that built after the city's police chief announced that he was in fact stepping down. we want to bring in our sara sidner now. she has spent many months in ferguson missouri. the past seven months in fact. joins us now on the phone to talk about this.

you, the overall picture, would get the sense that citizens are happy, that changes are coming to the city but there does appear to be at least one individual who's hoping to take advantage of divisions there right now. >> caller: assumptions about who it is that actually is responsible for the shooting. listening to the police chief of st. louis county he also said we don't know who it is. we are looking for the person or persons who may be responsible for this. i can tell you, having spoken to some of the folks on the ground who i converse with quite often, including city officials. one of the people who witnessed this talked about seeing a muzzle flash. they thought it was just fireworks at the time. they thought someone was playing with fireworks which happens sometimes at those protests. but then they looked up. and it seems as though there's a differing opinion as to where this shot came from. the witness i spoke to there's a little hill that goes up

looking back at the police department. and that's where this witness said they saw a muzzle flash that came from just up that hill and then down towards, the shot was headed towards the police department police officers who were out there. we don't yet know, because the protests were going on and they were pretty rowdy this time around. sometimes, you know they're a little more quiet. sometimes they're not. but this time, you know they were rowdy. they weren't huge. we've seen much bigger but there were a lot of people out there. and while you may expect them to be very calm and sort of you know almost celebrating the fact that the thing that they've been asking for for many months now has happened the police chief has stepped down. really what we have heard from protesters is that they want to see more movement. it was too little too late. so they all convened and gathered out there. i know there was fighting

amongst amongst protesters. you can see the pictures. some of the officers have on what looks like their riot gear. and when the other departments show up it's a larger crowd that normally convenes outside the police department. but of course at this point, everyone is trying to figure out, especially the police who is responsible for shooting these two officers. and, as you said, one shot in the shoulder. but you can see right there in the video that we're showing right now there is a fight going on that's amongst the protesters. often you see pushing and shoving between police and protesters. that fight you're looking at right now is the protesters fighting with one another. we don't know what that was about. we do know that anytime something like that begins to happen tensions flare. people get overly excited. and, you know we have to wonder who is the person that is responsible for the shooting which was, according to the witness i spoke to, away from the department.

but, of course the shots went towards the police department hitting those two officers. >> you're right. we just don't know where those shots came from but it's also so interesting and almost two convenient that it happens on a day when the police chief steps down. it happens on a day when you had small, a relatively small group of protesters out there. we saw that small scuffle from earlier, but that was really nonconsequential. talk to me about the general sentiment in ferguson, missouri. that justice department report released last week was absolutely scathing and it put into context why so angry, and why so many had stories to tell me and the other journalists there, they were validated. but do they feel that one police chief reluctantly stepping down i mean you pressed him for a long time for details in all of

this and he provided nothing. will that really be enough? and will we still continue to see demonstrations in the near future at least, do you think? >> caller: i do because in the minds of those who have been out protesting. and there's a very strong core group of people who protest regularly. and then there seem to be more who came out on this particular night. but there's a core group of about 20 to 50 people who come out periodically now they used to come out every single night for more than 100 nights. but it's now more periodically and they will gather people. but their sentiment is they want to see a full cleaning of the house. so you know they are talking about the mayor going and the entire police department dissolved. on the other hand they are not representative of every resident in ferguson. and we should make that clear, because i've talked to other ferguson residents who said we don't want our police department gone. and i've talked to both black and white residents who said

that that they did not want to see the police department dissolved. so it is difficult now to get a sense of just what the percentage is of people who want to see everything dissolved and someone take over. now if you will notice, st. louis county those were the officers who were shot. and they have been in ferguson on and off, certainly throughout the entire very volatile days in september, october, november. they took over dealing with the protests. and they were on the front line not the ferguson police department for quite some time. and now you're seeing them back there. and so the question remains that if this is going to turn into you know more violence you know the police departments are going to have to decide what it is they're going to do as far as security goes. because, you know no one in that community wants to see more deaths and more violence. and so something has to be done.

you've heard that from the police chief. you know, we are now looking at this. and the situation could not go on and be this volatile without something happening. this today, what happened is a fight between protesters and then eventually two officers being shot. we don't know by who. we don't know if it's somebody in the protest movement. we don't know if it's someone who has some sort of beef with the police or who just took an opportunity to shoot at them because nobody was paying attention. we just don't know at this point, but certainly the officers are looking at every single possibility. >> sara sidner speaking to us on the phone after spending a good part of the last seven months in ferguson missouri speaking to residents, speaking to police officials, and really, there, sara underscoring the massive vacuum of trust, the chasm. you've got other jurisdictions

there. and we're seeing two officers shot the night following the chief of ferguson police stepping down. unclear where those shots came from and who fired the gun, but we will continue to chase answers on that as this breaking story continues. zain? yeah and that massive vacuum of mistrust is only going to get wider. for more on this i want to go to janette elsie. we listen to the police conference in which he said the protests started off peaceful and around midnight things sort of took a turn for the worse and that's when those shots rang out. where were you and what did you see? >> caller: the police and the protesters were having a standoff which usually happens at protests when the police are allowed to do their snatch and grab which they've done maybe about three or four times tonight. so the police were lined up

against the police department parking lot and the protesters were lined up against the other parking lot. and they were just standing there. we were just standing there for about 30 or 40 minutes. two protest, a ploeter and erprotester and a legal server and lawyer went inside to get three of the protesters who were arrested tonight out of jail. and the moment they walked across that's when i heard four shots ring out. and the shots came from the direction of the hill. which the person who was just speaking mentioned. there is a hill across from the ferguson police department. and that's where i heard the shots come from. so it's four shots, and i looked across the street. and the police were all on the grass, and i looked back across on the side where i was, and a few of the protesters were laying on the grass, crawling across the parking lot and, you know, everyone seemed to be

trying to figure out what was going on. at that point that's when i saw the police get up and some either drew their guns or some were carrying two police officers across the grass. and the protesters were starting to get inside their vehicles but i stayed because my car was in another parking lot, which my friends and i had to walk across the parking lot with our hands up to get to the other side to get to our vehicle so we could leave. but i will say that no one knows who shot what. and no one knows where the shots came from exactly. i just know the direction where i heard them from. but i can say that we have been protesting for 215 days. and the 250 days no officer has been harmed ever. so even if their were scuffles tonight amongst people in the

protest, i highly doubt that this has anything to do with protesters. there were just two or three live treatment erstreamers out there, one, heather, hers was confiscated by the police. you can hear that the shots are not coming from our side of the straight or street or their side of the street. it was clearly up the hill. and the way the shot was fired it actually was like a clear shot. because the protesters were on the street or on the other side and the police were just standing there you know paying attention to the protesters. but not the other surroundings. so that's what i witnessed tonight. >> right, and actually we heard another witness basically saying a similar thing, that several shots rang out, but it was from a separate area from where those protesters were so a lot of

people think this has absolutely nothing, rather to do with the protesters who were actually there outside the police station that night. did i hear you correctly when you said that two police officers you may have seen two police officers being dragged. could you expand on that? >> caller: well the first one that i saw, they picked him up off the ground. and whether he just like they had to drag him across the grass because he couldn't walk. so i'm assume willing -- i'm not sure which one that is, like if he was the one who got shot in the shoulder or what but that's the first one that i saw. and the second one i saw them rushing to the back. >> those two police officers did sustain non-life threatening injuries. they are in hospital right now. okay. janetta elsie, we appreciate you. >> so far all that the witnesses are saying are matching up. they talk about these shots coming from a grassy, hilly area

away from demonstrators are. as we piece this together. we want to show you some new video we've just got into cnn. someone was live streaming the protests outside the ferguson police department at the time of the shooting. and listen closely here. because you will be able to hear sun sounds of the gunfire and people running. let's watch. [ gunshots ] >> [ bleep ]. [ moaning ] [ bleep ], [ bleep ]. >> run! [ horns honking ] >> it's been nine months ago, could have kept this from happening. >> [ bleep ], oh, [ bleep ]. >> okay there was just gunfire, and now cops have guns drawn. >> just that was less than a minute. >> incredible commotion, chaos

there. >> what everyone is describing is peaceful protests. even the police department saying things were not remarkable up until that moment. you hear the gunfire. the crowd reacting swearing and a lot of movement, the demonstrators moving away. >> you had one eyewitness saying that after the shots went off he just ran for it. there was obviously a lot of fear when you hear gunshot the ring out. a lot of people say that the gunshots rang out in a separate area. >> the grassy area. and then you hear that witness say the police had then drawn their guns as that escalated quite quickly. we'll continue to look at all this footage and try to piece it together. each eyewitness so far has told us it's not exactly from where the protesters are. somewhere else. >> and just moments ago the st. louis county police chief spoke from outside the hospital. listen. >> probably 60 70 people that

were up 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 that were up there from different agencies assisting ferguson. and then the night was fairly uneventful up until about midnight. at midnight the crowd was starting to break up. in fact several 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 police 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 county police officer's 41 years old. he's been a 14 year veteran of law enforcement. and then we have the webster groves officer who is 32 years old, and he's been on the department for approximately 5 years. so you know, i would like to just underscore if i could for a minute you know we have had an occasion to be involved in many 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. so but i have said all along that we cannot sustain this forever without problems. it's not an indictment on everybody that's out there, certainly expressing their first

amendment rights but when we have we have seen in law enforcement that this is a very very very dangerous environment for the officers to work in regarding the a 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're, we're 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: to be clear, this was not the people who were exercising their first amendment rights to did the shooting. >> i don't know who did the shooting to be honest right now. but somehow they were embedded in that group of folks. >> reporter: do you have a suspect description at all? >> i don't right now. >> reporter: do you know where those officers were standing? were they behind the police department? >> no they were on south

florissant road, standing directly in front of the police department. that's the best estimate i have right now. i've not been up to the scene this evening yet. >> reporter: can you tell if they were targeted? or if they were 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 or not, they weren't skip shots. and i would have to make an assumption that these shots were directed exactly at my police officers. >> 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. >> reporter: what kind of security level can we see from this point? obviously things have become volatile. what happens now? and what can you tell residents

and citizens to expect? >> i would argue at times it's been very volatile in the past. 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. and 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 in making sure that they're able to do what they're supposed to do out there in a safe manner. ladies and gentlemen we'll talk to you later on today. so thank you for your time. >> colonel john dellmarr. we don't know the precise details as he doesn't at this hour as far as who fired these two or these four to five shots

witnesses have been telling us that have hit two police officers in their upper torso not sustaining life-threatening injuries. one shot in the shoulder, one shot in the face. but certainly, in ferguson missouri after the police chief steps down these are sensitive times. >> and we did hear from one witness i spoke to earlier, janetta elsie, speaking of one of the officers being dragged down the street presumably one of the officers who sustained a gunshot wound. >> we'll take a break. more news. stay with us.

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two police officers were shot at a protest outside the city's police department, just a few hours ago. you're looking at live pictures coming to us from there now. one was from the st. louis county police department. the other was from webster groves. both officers are conscious right now and in hospital. one was shot in the shoulder and the other shot in the face. police from several jurisdictions were in ferguson keeping an eye on protests there. it started wednesday night after the ferguson police chief announced his resignation and this comes of course after that scathing federal report which found widespread problems in the police department and court system including instances of racial bias.

>> and we just got this amateur video. quite shocking. someone was actually live streaming the protest outside the ferguson police department at the time of the shooting. can you actually hear the sounds of gunfire and see people running. listen closely. [ gunfire ] >> [ bleep ]. [ moaning ] >> [ bleep ]. >> the [ bleep ]. >> run! [ horns honking ] >> nine months ago would have kept that from happening. >> oh, [ bleep ], oh, [ bleep ]. okay. there was just gunfire, and now cops have guns drawn. >> now one thing that strikes me as we watch that for the second time. is right at the top you can almost it sounded like you could hear the bullets flying

through the sky. this person's recording that and live streaming it. was online listening to what that woman was recording. she said these shots appearing to come from a place not where people were protesting. can you even see some of the protesters in the early part of that shot and people reacting saying oh, no. and police officers move. things could have kicked up a notch then. she said the police then have their weapons drawn. >> i think to myself what is the new interim police chief, this is what he's basically inheriting. this sort of situation of commotion. how is he going to control the situation. and what sort of atmosphere are we going to see in ferguson missouri come tomorrow. obviously there's going to be more police outside. another eyewitness described the scene to our affiliate kmov. >> some of the journalists were having a conversation whether we wanted to go home or not. we were all about to leave.

and as we were about to pack our cameras up we hear what we thought were fireworks up the street. turns out happened three more times. it was gunfire. we saw the muzzle fire from a gun up top of the street. so we were all just kind of ducked down. and once we ducked down we saw a cop was shot right next to us. >> that witness also saying that he saw a muzzle flash, what appeared to be a muzzle flash. so all these details from witnesses which leaves a very curious picture. why would someone at a time like this the city is inching its way toward change. >> and they were supposed to be celebrating the fact that thomas jackson was resigning and now you have a lot of protesters saying that where the gunshots rang out was separate from the protests. >> and a lot of people telling us they know exactly what would happen if something like this unfolded. they've already been mistreated by the police. so they don't want violence to

be the headline tomorrow. they want it to be the peaceful demonstration. we'll continue to track this breaking development. stay with cnn. we'll be back in a moment. >> stay with us.

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welcome back to our viewers here in the u.s. and all around the world. this is "cnn newsroom." i'm errol barnett. >> i'm zain asher. we want to update you on our breaking story coming out of ferguson missouri. >> we have some live pictures to show you after two officers were shot outside the city's police department a few hours ago. there were other jurisdictions helping keep the peace. the st. louis county police chief says both officers are conscious and in the hospital.

one shot in the shoulder, the other in the face. and the protest started after the police chief announced his long-awaited resignation. all of this comes after a scathing federal report which found widespread issues including instances of racial bias there in the police and the court systems. >> several racist e-mails and the fact that the police officers were systematically targeting african-americans. so a lot of people angered by this. >> and it makes you understand why they were so frustrated by the death of michael brown. how they say they've been treated for years. and we should also make the point that the department of justice report only looked at two years, of e-mails, of behavior and cases. >> people have been chanting racist cops have got to go. >> still a lot of anger. >> we actually got this video. someone was live streaming the protest. it's frightening to watch.

you can hear the sounds of gunfire and really see people running. listen. [ gunfire ] >> [ bleep ]! [ moaning ] >> [ bleep ]. >> the [ bleep ]. >> run! [ horns honking ] >> nine months ago would have kept that from happening. >> oh, [ bleep ] oh, [ bleep ]. >> okay. there was just gunfire, and now cops have guns drawn. >> that was the scene in ferguson missouri just a few hours ago. it's just past 2:30 in the morning there where things have calmed down. we understand the results of that gunfire was two police officers who were shot. they do not have life-threatening injuries. an investigation into who fired those shots and why continues at

this hour. we will continue to look for new information and bring you things as they are confirmed this hour. another story we want to bring to you. this month marks four years since the start of syria's bloody civil war. more than 1400 days have passed since that time in 2011. and an estimated 220,000 people have been killed. and a u.n. refugee agency says nearly 4 million people have fled the country, and another 7 million syrians are displaced within the country's borders. and we do have some pictures to show you. a view of syria from space. a rights group says the satellite images show 83% of the lights in the country have gone out since the conflict began in 2011. >> and a new report gives united nations a failing grade in its response to the syrian crisis

over the past year. the u.n. called for all parties to cease attacks against civilians, instead, they say at least 76,000 civilians were killed in 2014 alone, and that includes thousands of children. the u.n. called on all parties in populated areas. but 212,000 people are still besieged, and millions live in areas that are hard to reach. the u.n. called on all parties in the conflict to work towards a political solution. but peace talks collapsed in february of 2014. >> now considering this month marks four years, oxfam gave them a failing grade. the aid agency says humanitarian access has improved. more people are being killed at a staggering rate. joining me now is deputy humanitarian director of oxfaf

great britain. 2014 was the darkest year yet for civilians according to your report. millions have had to flee from hard to reach areas. there's now a more desperate humanitarian crisis. what was the most striking finding for you in this report? >> i think the overall failure of the international community to really step up and address this situation. you know we look back at u.n.'s security council resolutions agreed to by member states last year and repeatedly found that on each of the different levels we have failed. so protection of civilians we've failed. more and more people being displaced. there was an agreement for additional funding to meet the needs of those affected failed. last year the u.n. appeal from

57% down from 41%. an improvement in access. it's extremely difficult to get aid in. and most importantly, it called for a meaningful political settlement. and that's clearly a fail. we are struggling to see any way out of this conflict. and we would call for a freeze in aleppo as a way of building trust. as we approach the fourth anniversary, this could turn into a situation of acceptance of oh, that's just the way it is over there, and that mustn't be. >> now the fact that there is no clear path to the solution is also part of the problem. your report kind of gives the u.n. security council a failing grade. the group already is notoriously inefficient. people complain it can only issue these resolutions that are difficult to get. but it alone cannot really act. who do you blame for the lack of action in what is a sovereign nation? >> well primarily, of course

the responsibility has to lie with the warring parties. and we would call on them to you know cease violence and to seek settlement a solution to this. but we also know that this conflict has regional and international implications and that many different countries have significant influence on the different warring parties. so it's a collective failure. there's a need at all levels to push to make this happen. >> is there a specific nation that you would point the finger at though? there are many and as far as aid as well. we know that only 57% of funds needed to support a lot of the efforts for refugees were even met in 2014. so many of us watch this and get frustrated and outraged and try to raise money as the u.n. security council issues what it can, what or whom do you think is getting in the way? >> well it's a very complex picture, and certainly as a humanitarian organization we you know we will not take sides. we will not technically say one

side or the other is more to blame. but we want to highlight the human suffering. i was in jordan last week. i was in lebanon in a tent on the mountain side there's still snow on the tops. they've just come through a tough winter. there's a new born child a month old, not yet registered. people were fearful of going to register. they're fearful of their legal status. and a real sense of a lack of hope. this conflict seems to just be going on and on. nobody seems to have a solution or be really giving it a huge push we need to see a solution. and there was a lack of hope you know and an issue of dignity. these people are really reliant. there was a house slightly up the hill, but they said you can stay on our land. it was the goodwill of neighbors. but that goodwill is being stretched. nearly a quarter of the population now is refugee. it's having a huge impact on the neighboring countries as well. and we need to support those

countries as they support such a huge refugee crisis. >> millions of people are suffering. it's the shame of the world, and certainly those young syrians will not forget that. as they grow older they will remember when the world forgot them. thanks for joining us from london this morning just pass 7:40 there. we appreciate it. and we are, of course still following the breaking news out of ferguson missouri where two police officers were shot, one shot in the shoulder, one in the face. we will be speaking to an eyewitness to the protest right after this break. stay with us.

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when you use promo code go. call now. want to get you some more information now on that breaking news out of ferguson missouri. two police officers are recovering at this hour in hospital after they were shot at a protest outside the city's police department just a few hours ago. you're looking at live pictures coming to us from there now. those officers were from other jurisdictions helping to keep the peace while protests were taking place. the st. louis county police chief says both officers are conscious. it happened after the police chief announced i was stepping down something protesters have been demanding for months. and here can you see a live look outside the hospital where the two injured police officers are recovering. the police chief's resignation is just the latest high profile

one in ferguson after the u.s. justice department found widespread issues in the city's police department and court system all of it stemming from what was described as racial bias. >> and in just a moment i'm going to be speaking to someone who actually witnessed the shooting of those police officers but i want to show you this amateur video. someone was live streaming the protests just before the shooting around that time of shooting. and you can hear the suns of the gunfire and people running in different directions. just listen. [ gunfire ] >> [ bleep ]. [ moaning ] >> [ bleep ]. >> the [ bleep ]. >> run! [ horns honking ] >> nine months ago would have kept this from happening. >> oh, [ bleep ].

oh, [ bleep ]. >> okay. there was just gunfire, and now cops have guns drawn. >> you clearly hear the gunfire in that video. the commotion really makes your heart stop. i want to go now to an eyewitness who was at the scene. kayla reid is an organizer for black struggle. she was at the demonstration and saw the officers who were shot. she's on the phone right now. so describe exactly what you saw. >> caller: well about five minutes before the actual shooting protesters were on one side of the street. cops were on the other. and myself with a lawyer and a legal observer went behind the police lines to go inside the police department to bail out the protesters who had been arrested. and while we were waiting to get inside of the police department we heard very loud sound, almost like a very a bottle rocket. sounded like about four shots, and then i heard the police

officer in the line i saw him bend over and kind of scream in pain. -- back of the building. the other was like right in front of me behind a suv. where he received medical attention. there was a lot of commotion, a lot of and it was just a very unexpected moment for every -- >> and we heard from other people who were at the scene that where those shots rang out were from a separate location from where the protesters were gathered. how far apart were the area where the protesters were gathered and the shots rang out? >> caller: there's an adjacent street to south florissant where the police department sits. and the shots came from that street. it's on a hill. and so i would say less than 100 feet definitely. but from behind the protesters.

>> and you saw just the police officers who were shot after they were shot but you didn't see any suspects or anyone running or anything like that? >> caller: no and, again, you know i was behind the police line. so i, i feared for my life. when you hear gunshots your immediate reaction is to go for cover. >> of course. >> caller: and so i was, i was watching as best as i could while also trying to keep myself safe. so no i didn't see a suspect. >> and here's the thing, i mean we were hearing that initially those protests started off as very peaceful. people were chanting "racist cops have got to go" so there was anger in the air, but it was more celebration that the police chief jackson was resigning. and then the mood changed. were you there when the mood changed? and can you describe that for us? >> caller: i was there from the beginning, and basically, if you watched the last 215 days of

protests people did come out feeling good about the fact that chief jackson was no longer going to be in his position. however, recognizing that that wasn't the end all or what justice looks like in ferguson. and so there was a sense to say that we aren't satisfied with this it's a step in the right direction, but it's not what total justice looks like in ferguson. so there was a chance tonight you got rid of jackson. but we want more. there's a chance for multiple people to be out of office in ferguson. and so it changed when ferguson p.d. responded and called for backup and they came out in riot gear tonight. and it just goes to show that even though the chief is no longer going to be in his position the culture in ferguson still exists. these are the same officers who have kept their jobs, who have been dealing with protesters for almost seven months now. so there is a natural tension

that comes out of that. that's just the protest every time so that's what the experience was today. >> clearly the officers were expecting and anticipating some tension. but there have been six people so far who have resigned in ferguson missouri. but as kayla was mentioning they want the mayor of ferguson to resign as well. kayla reid we appreciate you sharing your story with us as well. >> the st. louis county police chief said this was the kind of thing he's been fearing for the past few months that his police officers may in fact be targeted. that's what he thinks happened there in ferguson missouri. colonel jon belmar updated media on what they now so far. take a listen. >> the night was fairly uneventful up until about midnight. at midnight the crowd was starting to break up. in fact, several 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 police 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 county police officer is 41 years old. he's been a 14 year veteran of law enforcement. and then we have the webster groves officer who is 32 years old, and he's been on the department for approximately five years. so i would like to just 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. so but i have said all along that we cannot sustain this forever without problems. it's not an indiemts 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. >> chief jon belmar saying that they've actually not had these kind of interactions with

demonstrators for the past seven months. they've been fortunate. he's been fearful that things would change and police would be targeted. it appears that police were targeted in this instance. he gave an update saying that those cops do not have life-threatening injuries but they were hit in the upper torso, and there is a continuing investigation as to who fired those shots. it's not clear at this hour. >> i spoke to a witness, kayla reid she said she witnessed one of those officers after he was shot. but, you know, she's saying that it's not enough that the six people in ferguson have resigned. they also want the mayor of furgson to resign as well. we'll have more breaking news right after this break. stay with us.

more now on the breaking news out of ferguson missouri this hour. two police officers are recovering right now in hospital after they were shot at a protest outside the city's police department. just a few hours ago. those officers were from two other departments in the area. one from st. louis county one in the town of webster groves. they were helping to control crowds at the protest in ferguson. this is a live look at the hospital where they are now recovering. st. louis county police chief says both are conscious. one was shot in the shoulder. the other in the face. the protest began wednesday night after the ferguson police chief announced he was finally stepping down and it is just the latest high-profile resignation in ferguson after

the u.s. justice department found widespread problems in the city's police department and court system including instances of racial bias. >> and earlier we did get amateur video, someone live streaming the protest outside the police department at the time of the shooting. >> it's shocking. >> exactly. you can hear the sounds of the gunfire and see people running. listen. [ gunfire ] >> [ bleep ]. [ moaning ] >> [ bleep ]. >> the [ bleep ]. >> run! [ horns honking ] >> nine months ago would have kept that from happening. >> oh, [ bleep ]. oh, [ bleep ]. >> okay. there was just gunfire, and now cops have guns drawn. >> and that was the moment the protest turned violent. you could clearly hear the

commotion. you could hear the gunfire and people running in different directions. just a sense of chaos in the air. >> and the important detail there is we don't know if those gunshots had anything to do with the protest. it appeared all of the witnesses said it wasn't coming from where the protesters were at all. there is an investigation that continues at this hour who fired the gunshots. why and what will it mean in a new ferguson missouri with a new police chief. >> that's it for us. thank you so much for watching. i'm zainasher. >> say tuned for "cnn newsroom." hmm... fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that parker. well... did you know auctioneers make bad grocery store clerks? that'll be $23.50. now .75, 23.75, hold 'em. hey now do i hear 23.75? 24! hey 24 dollar, 24 and a quarter, quarter now half, 24 and a half and .75! 25!

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the breaking news this morning. gunshots in ferguson. two police officers shot. we have new information on their condition. just moments away. also this morning, new trouble for the secret service. agents investigated for a drunken late night crash at the white house. new advances in iraq. could iran's help in the battle create problems ahead. we have new information on that as well. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it is a busy night. thursday