chief belmar of st. louis county was talking about this trust and how it has served the communities. he said this just shows how difficult it is for police officers to navigate between people who want to do them harm and people who want to exercise their first amendment rights. two cops were shot. when they go out tonight, how do police protect themselves? >> let me say first of all, all my thoughts and prayers go out to those two injured officers. we really do wish for their speedy recovery. what happened to them last night is unacceptable, and i will hope that people who live in that community, in and around that community have any idea, have any evidence, hear any rumors, is that they report it to their local authorities so they can follow the leads on that case. all of us have a responsibility in making sure that those responsible for this last night are taken into custody. to your point, to your question, let me say this. first and foremost, that community, ferguson in and of itself, we all know the

we will play some sound right now from chief belmar. after you hear him explain what happened you will hear from a witness who was there when the officers were shot. >> the night was fairly uneventful until about midnight. at midnight the crowd was starting to break up. several protesters started to leave the area. to the immediate north/northwest of the ferguson police department several shots were fired. at least three. two officers were struck. st. louis county officer struck in the shoulder and webster grove police officer struck in the face. both officers are here right now and being treated. i don't have an official status on what their condition is right now. they are conscious. >> probably 30 feet away from the crowd. all of a sudden i heard four to five shots rang out. i know the area. i know the shots came from at least over by the grassy area beyond the subway. nowhere near the protesters. i'm thinking about trying to rebuild what happened. it took me at least 30 seconds of watching before i realized there is an officer down.

. >> we heard from chief john belmar. st. louis county police department and he talked about the fact that they had seen flares from gun muzzles. did you see anything like that? >> no i didn't where the gunshots were expected to have come from was behind me and i was up against the building. there was one freelance photojournalist right near the officers and said he turned around and saw a muzzle flash and heard bullets whipping past his head. >> john thank for making time for us this morning. i want to bring in francis rivera who has a detailed timeline. tape take us through it. >> we were able to get a clear understanding of what happened when from the news conference this morning from the st. louis county police chief. let's get started with the evening as far as the timeline of events. let's start with 8:00 p.m. last night of the demonstrators talk blocking the road near the police department, it came on the heels of the resignation of the embattled police chief, on to 8:27 police call a code 1000, if you're not familiar

jon belmar the st. press conference earlier and i'm going to bring that to you right now. take a listen. >> captain nelson here from the webster groves police department. >> so at about 8:00 last night may have been a little sooner than that protesters arrived in front of the ferguson police department on south floreson road. i was actually able to monitor that, talk to my staff about what was going on. as far as the night goes probably 60 70 people that were up there. it wasn't all that remarkable compared to some of the things that we have experienced over the last few months but there were quite a few people in the roadway, sidewalks, in front of the station, et cetera. there was a contingent of police officers that 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. to the immediate north northwest of the ferguson police department several shots

ice chief jon belmar said they have leads on the suspects but would not give more specific details. >> when this happened when they heard the shots and when they heard the bullets zinging past that they saw muzzle flashes, but these muzzle flashes were probably about 125 yards away. many officers drew their weapons but no officers fired. this is the number one priority right now of the st. louis county police department to identify these individuals. that individual or individuals who shot our police officers. >> now, one of the officers was shot in the shoulder the other in the face. chief belmar described their injuries as non-life-threatening and cell phone video captured the moment at least four shots rang out. [ gunshots ] >> so the crowd of about 50 demonstrators and about 30 police officers took cover. demonstrators were rallying after the resignation after police chief thomas jackson, the sixth departure from the ferguson police department following the justice department's scathing report. nbc's ron allen joins me now from ferguson. first, ron, let's get an update on the cond

louis county police chief jon belmar.thank you for being with me and, jim, a lot to go over with this press conference. let's talk about what they are talking about as far as a suspect or suspects involved. one of the things that struck me was the fact that they said that it was probably a handgun, that it was about 150 yards away that the officers saw the muzzle flash. what does that tell you? >> well somebody was clearly intent on shooting into the police line it looks like and getting away so it doesn't tell you a lot but they could recover a couple of casings there may be. maybe that's from the subject's gun, and they may be able to do some ballistics identification with that if they can get a lead on somebody and even with the national ballistics network to see if the gun has been used in a crime before so the chief was pretty clear. he's interested in protecting his officers and the protesters' right to protest, and he's not throwing the shooter as a protester. he's saying it's separate. that the person who pulled t

louis county police chief jon belmar. no police officers returned fire. the wounded officers were rushed from the scene. today the chief called it an ambush and indicated it might have come from among the crowd of protesters. >> i would have to imagine that these protesters were among the shooters that shot at the police officers. my officers tell me that when this happened, when they heard the shots and when they heard the bullets zinging past, they saw muzzle flashes. but these were probably about 125 yards away. >> protesters maintained it came from a hill about 220 yards directly across from the station, according to "the new york times." today eric holder condemned the shooting in the strongest possible terms. >> what happened last night was a pure ambush. this was not someone trying to bring healing to ferguson. this was a damn punk, a punk who was trying to sew discord in an area that's trying to get its act together. >> local leaders have also sharply denounced the shooting. tonight the missouri state highway patrol have taken over in the city of

jon belmar spoke previously. he said a 32-year-old who was a five-year veteran was shot in the face. and a 41-year-old officer from st. louis county was shot in the shoulder. that officer was a 14-year veteran on the force. he described their injuries as serious. both were conscious and are currently conscious as they are there in the hospital. but he says those injuries are serious. the shots were fired as the protesters gathered following the resignation of the embattled police chief. it happened on wednesday. jackson was the 6th employee to be fired orie signed. a report cleared darrin wilson, a name you heard a lot of civil rights charges in the shooting of black 18-year-old teenager michael brown in ferguson last summer. wilson has since resigned. >>> and joining us now on the phone is rod wheeler former dc homicide detective and criminal investigation. you have heard what the chief has to say and what are your thoughts on what happened here tonight? truly a horrific scene there. >> you are exactly right. it

. >> you're being just like belmar using inflammatory language. >> inflammatory? this guy tried to kill two police. he's not a protester? how does he know the guy he pose supposedly has a beef with? >> you'd be in jail for assaulting someone on camera. >> our reporter -- let me interrupt here. his attorney said he was not a demonstrator but deray, our reporter ana there did report that on his facebook page he did talk about joining looters and being a part of some sort of -- i don't know what word you want to use, obviously, but he did talk about being with the looters. >> yeah. there are a lot of questions that we still have that haven't been answered. what we know to be true, though is that the police have started to pedal a narrative that is not true. it's not clear that -- >> the bullets in the police flesh is pretty good proof that what they are saying is correct. >> no it's not, jeff. >> you have two cops nearly dead because of this guy. that's pretty good evidence that his intentions were bad. >> and remember the protesters' lives were just as at risk as th

louis county chief of police jon belmar spoke about the difficulties of police. here it is. >> it's difficult for the officers to discern within a crowd of folks that are perhaps there for the right reason exactly who is doing what. i would have to imagine that these protesters were among the shooters that shot at the police officers. it's very difficult for the u officers to understand what they're looking at and really be able to veflt the threats. >> this may be an off the wall question. ch do the police need to be there? if they're a target, do the police need to be there while the peaceful protests are taking place? >> i wouldn't take the kind of leap to determine whether the police should be there or not, but to chief belmar's point, i would imagine it would be difficult. you're talking to 200 people out there. they're in dark corners. people say they saw the muzzle flash 125 yards up a hill in the darkness. clearly it's difficult. but i would say that the idea that there's a shooter among the protesters concerns the protesters as well. they're promoting mi

>> police chief john belmar the officers are receiving very serious wounds. not an official update on the staff but we are told they are conscious. their identities have not been released. they will be releasing an update on the officer's status later this morning. one was shot in the face the other in the shoulder. i want to set the scene for you. last night around 8:00 p.m. protestors began gathering outside of the ferguson police department this was after the news police chief tom jackson would be resigning around midnight the protests began to dwindle out. around that time shots range out from the ferguson police department. shots we are told with a group of police officers. that is when the two officers were hit. they say they are still searching for who it was that did that shooting. they did not have any suspects. shortly after the shooting when the officers were taken from the scene investigators began to comb over that area to look at shell casings and any evidence they could find. they say that will be updated as well later on this morning. the sun

so, senator, i think what might be heartening to many as john belmar, the chief of police was saying, is that it was the public. and he was basically embracing the process. saying, this is the way it's supposed to be. we're supposed to be working together with those that we serve and those that we serve are supposed to be working with us as we try to protect them. and that must be a heartening development there, state senator. >> absolutely, it is. i have to tell you, there are two things we're dealing with right now, and we're on a collision course. proceeding august 9th of last year, we have already had a lot of violence in the st. louis area. and i don't think anyone who understands the problem with illegal guns on the street knows that violence isn't stopped. we have to deal with that. but, unfortunately, there are some people who are out there who want to mix this incident, which is isolated to the protest and that should not happen. we have had a very long issue with violence in the street, and the something that we've been trying to address with st. louis county police officers

colonel jon belmar updated media on what they now so far.. >> 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 be

martha: we've been listening to jon belmar, prior to this gent man, st.lice chief, who said by god's grace we did not lose two police officers last night but he outlined their injuries and they are quite serious. the younger one from west groves, the bullet went through his cheek and lodged behind his ear the way it was described and the bullet is in that position and doctors are trying to figure out what they're growing to do in terms of that. the other 41-year-old st. louis police officer, 14-year veteran of the force there, he got a bullet went through the front of his shoulder and lodged between the scrap you la and his back. he was in a great deal of pain, who described a very difficult difficult situation, when shots rang out against a lined up formation of police officers, standing there to protect people's rights. are we going to mike tobin now? mike tobin, are you there? >> reporter: martha we have people looking at scene officers with metal detectors, examining the scene. presumably they're looking for what is left over of rounds fired off in th

louis county police chief jon belmar said he believed the officers were directly targeted.ef belmar: i do not know who did the shooting to be honest with you right now, but somehow they were embedded in that group of folks. i would have to make in a suction 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 were not skip shots, and we have to make an assumption that these shots were directed exactly at my police officers. amy: one officer was shot in the face, the other was shot in the shoulder. some eyewitnesses disputed the claim that the shooter was embedded with the protesters. activist deray mckesson tweeted -- "the shooter was not with the protestors. the shooter was atop the hill." yourpierre thomas with abc news says it appears to be a random shooting by someone who just showed up. just hours before the shooting ferguson mayor james knowles discussed the resignation of fe

one word that police chief belmar has used every and over again this is simply unsustainable. the standoff with the crowd sometimes throwing things and early in the hours in the morning shooting two police officers. he said this is simply unsustainable. will the protests be here out in front of the politician or police station or forest avenue. we have seen strong emotions on all sides. i was speaking to a protester up the block here she told me we were afraid as well. we were afraid we were being shot at. that's not going to keep them from coming out again tonight. we could see a real standoff with emotions running high. if you look at the long time line of this case from the shooting of michael brown unarmed, 18 years old in august, that led to serious protests, bud peaceful ones. loud demonstrations three months later stores and buildings burned down and now direct assault on the symbol of authority. two police officers shot. we have seen really an escalation throughout this case. a question mark over where this is going to go tonight as the sun begins to set here in fergus

louis county police chief john belmar called it an ambush. >> we're lucky by god's grace we didn't lose two officers last night. >> reporter: police are not discussing the investigation, but they say they have some leads. they believe the shooter opened fire from about 125 yards away. >> we do believe it's a handgun based on the way the shots sounded and the injuries to the police officers. >> reporter: demonstrators had gathered at the police station after the mayor announced ferguson police chief tom jackson was stepping down. he was under pressure to resign following a justice department report that found widespread racial bias in the mostly white police force. last summer a ferguson police officer shot and killed unarmed teen michael brown. officer darren wilson was later cleared of any wrongdoing but the incident sparked unrest for months. police say some witnesses at last night's scene are helping with information. marley hall, cbs news. >> just moments ago we learned both officers were released from the hospital. >>> jurors in the trial of boston marathon bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev

louis county police chief, jon belmar just made an opening statement. he is now answering reporters' questions. let's go back. >> -- responsible for you interrogating them. >> we interviewed them is what we did. without going into a whole lot on that because again, i appreciate their cooperation and i wouldn't want to do anything to compromise them but as you might imagine, there is all sorts of information that comes in regarding an investigation, especially of this magnitude, and when that happens, we have the obligation to follow up on those -- on those statements made to us on those clues, on those facts and circumstances, that would lead different people perhaps in two different areas to say hey, i saw this i don't know what this necessarily means, but people speculate on different things. it leaves law enforcement to it. i would tell you that was a whole lot more without getting into a whole lot of details that i think are very inappropriate to share with anybody else at this time since these leads are going away that we felt like at that point in

louis county police chief john belmar called an ambush. >> by god's grace we didn't lose two officers last night. we could have buried two police officers over this. >> reporter: the family of michael brown, the teenager whose death at the hand of a white cop set off months of a protests here condemned thishs escalation of violence, and in washington, attorney general, eric holder was blunt. >> this was not someone trying to bring healing to ferguson. this was a damn punk. >> everybody down on the ground. i heard police got shot. >> reporter: the gunfire came just hours after ferguson police chief tom jackson quit, the latest in a series of official departures following a justice department report that criticized the city for racial bias. victoria salsman, who livesdo seven doors from the shooting w scene, was interviewed by police, and she wondered whymo there was a demonstration at all, much less a shooting. >> i don't know what you'rees protesting because people are stepping down, and we're trying to move forward as a city and do what is right and find out what is really wrong, and

of the regional rails and trollies and a slow go south on 295 from cherry hill all the way down to belmar. gang back over to you. >> bob thank you very much. >>> not good out there. >> no it's not. >> it's down right ugly guys. football to warm you up. >> that would be nice. >> starting to heat up for the philadelphia eagles. off season free agency starts next week and believe it or not another veteran of the eagles gets released as the eagles set their sights on free agency it starts officially next tuesday. and ryan howard speaks for the first time this spring after a good start against yankees. what rya here's to the explorers. those diagnosed with cancer who didn't settle for just one opinion on their diagnosis or recommended treatment plan they explored their options. and discovered a new level of empowerment. at cancer treatment centers of america in philadelphia, that's what we do-empower our patients with a comprehensive second opinion. and because time is of the essence, we do it a single one day. explore your options with a one-day second opinion. learn more at cancercenter.com/

louis county police chief john belmar. >> we have had several leads since then. i cannot tell you at this point an arrest is imminent. >> reporter: six high-ranking ferguson officials have departed in the last few days, but the protest continues .brit me packnet is reviewing reforms for the city. is there any doubt in your mind that the protests will continue? >> there is no doubt in my mind that pieceful action will continue in ferguson andy across this country because there is still a lot of work to do. >> reporter: there is now a reward in excess of $10000 for information leading to an arrest in the shooting early thursday. and, scott the police say that amount would could go up as their investigation proceeds. >> pelley: dean thanks very much. in another deadly police shooting, the medical examiner in madison, wisconsin said today 19-year-old tony robinson was shot in the head, arm and torso last week. robinson, who was biracial, was unarmed. the police say he assaulted matt kenney, a white officer, responding to reports of a disturbance. the shooting is unde

. >> reporter: jon belmar is st. louis county the police chief. >> the st. louis county officer was struck in the shoulder and a webster groves police officer was struck in the face. >> reporter: the violence came hours after ferguson the mayor announced that the city's police chief, thomas jackson, would be stepping down. >> he felt that this was the best way forward. >> reporter: jackson is the sixth ferguson official to leave in the last week. he's been heavily criticized for his department's response to last august's killing of unarmed teenager michael brown. and the department's reaction to the protests that followed. according to a report released by the department of justice last week, the problems are far-reaching. ferguson's approach to law enforcement, it said both reflects and reinforces racial bias. in his resignation letter published wednesday, the chief of five years wrote it was an honor to serve, and that he will continue to assist the city in any way i can. belmar says the vol tireatile relationship can't go on. >> difficult to sustain this

jon belmar. >> we have an obligation that folks want to express their first amendment rights have thebility to do that but when you look at the tenure of at least some of the people involved in the protest or civil unrest it at times, can be very troubling. >> right now the manhunt continues for the person or persons who did this. one of the officers was shot in the cheek, and then the bullet lodged behind his ear. the other got hit in the shoulder and that bullet went through his back. they are listed in serious condition. back to you. >> thanks molette. >>> new rules for police departments could be coming to maryland. activists are talking to lawmakers about them now. there are three bills on the table. one is about where officers can use body cameras. another involves how you would issue a complaint against an officer. the third would require an annual report on all deaths of officers and on anyone killed by police. >>> metra's leaders are asking for a big loan to pay off and old loan. according to "the washington post," mess traat tra has to pay back debt this year. they're asking

louis county police chief jon belmar says this is a situation that keeps getting more difficult to handle. >> this is another layer that makes it very difficult for our police officers out there to deal with. i hope people understand that because it's a very tricky line for us to be able to walk. >> reporter: and harris you touched on the good news that both police officers have now been discharged from the hospital despite very serious nature of their wounds. the 41-year-old officer from the st. louis county police department was shot in his right shoulder. the bullet exited out his back. that 32-year-old officer from webster grove was shot around the cheek and the bullet is still in his head. harris, back to you. >> mike tobin with very latest in ferguson missouri. mike, thank you very much. we'll bring it out to the couch now. lou, i will start with you. what is going on here in ferguson, missouri, is not happening in a vacuum. i mentioned resignations in the police department and previous statements by attorney general arick holder looking at dismantling that department. your thoughts

we still have snow in belmar, camden county and the northeast corridor city not running from trenton to princeton and the newark and chestnut hill lines are halted. >> thank you matt. >> well the "action news" morning team will be on at 4:30 a.m. with the latest for you on road conditions and the potential for record breaking cold join matt, tam david and karen for all you need to know. >> all right we'll take a break and more news when we come right back. ♪♪ i've been driving a lincoln since long before anybody paid me to drive one. i didn't do it to be cool. i didn't do it to make a statement. i just liked it. lease an mkc for $349 a month, plus competitive owners and lessees get $1000 bonus cash only at your lincoln dealer. >>> it may be snowing here but it's bright and sunny in clearwater florida where the phillies took on the astros. ducis rogers is here. >> cliff lee makes his debut and it appears that the elbow incident is a thing of the past. lee gets a nice 6-4-3 double play and does not allow in his first action since july. fourth inning, phils down and he has a nice day an

in belmar be aware on 295 southbound just north of the exit for the 42 freeway in 76. all lanes are closed right now southbound because crews are on the scene trying to get a disabled tractor-trailer off of the highway. so be aware of that moving into pennsylvania. 476 and germantown pike. it is rainy out there. you could hit some slick patches with ponding and puddles on the roadways. bill what does the forecast call for, rain all day? >>> for most of the day the threat will be here for the morning and into the afternoon. look at the wind blowing with colder air moving in. so believe it or not, it's not just rain this morning. some of the northern and western suburbs are seeing the snow. look closely and in bucks county especially, central bucks county, that is snow that is falling. it's heavy rain moving through trenton. >>> and breaking news a woman is attacked heading home from the gym. matt delucia is live in port richmond with what police are telling him. matt? >>> this woman was incredibly brave and helpful in finding the guys who did this toer the. i'll have th

i can safely say it's going to be ron jackson and chief belmar.end of this shift they want to go home to their families. don't get involved unless you have to and to use restraint and be smart. these barricades weren't always here in front of the police depts department and fire department. this is going to be a real test. it's almost sun down. you have a lot of people still angry. there's a lot of protesters that will gather. they have called for a prayer vigil. they believe it's going to be a big crowd. that will be a real test for this special task force that's inside a meeting right now. >> the police officers are about to take charge over there. they must be scared. there's a shooter at large who armed and dangerous. >> sure. they're human. they'd be afraid that did last night's shooting is still out there. copy cats could jump in. white supremist groups from other parts of missouri could come in and cause trouble and mayhem and cause them to shoot at the crowd or create a bigger mob scene situation. there's all kinds of danger for the police

louis police chief john belmar said this -- >> my officers tell me that when this happened, when they heard the shots, and when they heard the bullets zinging past, that they saw muzzle flashes about 125 yards away. many officers drew their weapons but no officers fired. i'm going to be honest with you, this is beginning at times to be very difficult for any law enforcement agency anywhere to wrap their arms around. i want everybody here to understand how difficult this is to do it the exact perfect way. >> michael brown's family condemned last night's shooting saying, we reject any violence directed towards members of law enforcement. it cannot and will not be tolerated. joining me from ferguson, missouri are msnbc's trymaine lee and a ferguson activist who was at the scene when two officers were shot last night. also joining us by phone is missouri congressman emanuel cleaver. quickly to you, tremaine, what is the situation there now >> moments ago, a vigil of about 100 people ended and protesters marched down the road chanting "no justice, no peace," but like so many other proverbi

i'm happy we have uncovered the lie belmar told before and we can learn about the motives and shooters. we have the six resignations. the two most high profile being the up to manager and the police -- town manager and the police chief. they got severence packages hoping to get rid of mayor knowles. today is the 219th day of protest, i don't think it will stop soon. >> a conversation on ferguson. turning to other news. tuesday is an election day. with one day left to campaign the outcome is too close to call. the latest showing binyamin netanyahu's bid in jeopardy. his party is trailling a coalition group known as the zionist union. binyamin netanyahu is sparing no effort to hold onto his job. he was brought to tel aviv for a get out and vote rally. isaac herzog visited the western wall in jerusalem. the labor party leader would likely be the next prime minister if they win more seats >>> the road to becoming israel's prime minister is a complicated one. voters selected a 120-minute parliament. they don't vote for individual candidate. seats in the knesset were allocated on what was sa

louis county police chief jon belmar. >> this is really an ambush is what it is. you can't see it coming. you don't understand that it's going to happen and you're basically defenseless from the fact that it is happening to you at the time. >> woodruff: one of the wounded officers was shot in the face, the bullet lodged behind his ear. the other was hit in the shoulder by a bullet that just missed his spine. >> we could have buried two police officers next week over this. >> woodruff: instead, officials said neither man suffered permanent injury, and both were released from a hospital late this morning. the shootings came just hours after ferguson police chief tom jackson resigned. he'd been under pressure since the august shooting death of michael brown by officer darren wilson, who's since left the force. then, last week the u.s. justice department accused ferguson's police and courts of rampant racism, prompting chief jackson and five others to quit or be fired. in washington today, however, attorney general eric holder warned last night's shootings threaten an

louis county police chief john belmar told reporters the search has come up empty so far. >> i cannotyou at this point that an arrest is imminent. there's certainly nobody in custody. when we get to the point where we feel like that we have active leads, if we can do anything through you, to have the community assist us, we'll certainly let you know. >> woodruff: the wounded officers escaped without any permanent injury. the man who breached white house security last fall, pleaded guilty today. omar gonzalez jumped the fence on september 19th, and made it deep inside the executive mansion with a knife before being tackled. the first family was not there at the time. the incident led to the resignation of the secret service director. president obama checked up today on the hospital that triggered a scandal in the department of veterans affairs. long delays and falsified wait lists at the v.a. facility in phoenix arizona led to reforms and resignations. the president visited the site today. he said the v.a. is "chipping away" at the problems, but there's much more to do. mr. obama also

louis county police chief jon belmar says only seems to escalate. >> when you look at the tenor of at least some of the people involved in the protests or civil unrest, it is at times can be very troubling. >> very troubling. attorney general eric holder calling it a senseless act which he blames on a punk. >> this was a damn punk. a punk. who was trying to sow discord in an area that is trying get its act together and trying to bring together a community that has been fractured for too long. >> no less than the president tweeting this. violence gigs appliance unacceptable. our players with the ofs. to milwaukee county sheriff on what he founds very troubling in all of this. what do you think of this? >> well, this war on our nation's finest, the american police officer, continues, but it continues to be fueled by some very important people. it's empty rhetoric for what eric holder offered today and the president through a tweet of all things, when they have now an obligation to stand up and remind people in these urban ghettos and american ghettos they have a responsibility to comply

louis county police chief john belmar, i think he said it best that they were very very lucky. and certainly their families are saying a lot of prayers. they are home. they are in seclusion. their names not being released. we can understand that given what happened to them. but they are on the road to recovery. >> jason carroll live in ferguson, missouri. thank you for your reporting there. >>> now we go to lawrence bryant a photographer for the st. louis american. he was on the scene when police officers were shot on wednesday night, and he joins us now live from ferguson, missouri. you were the photographer who took the picture of helping -- officers helping the other officer that was shot. how did the scene and crowd change after those shots rang out? >> there was a little bit of pandemonium. all the protesters they scattered. everybody hit the deck. certainly the police hit the deck and they went into defense mode. >> you know one other question when people basically scattered, was there a concern that it was coming from the crowd? what were people thinking when this happen

here's chief belmar. >> the web store groves officer is shot right here at the high point of your cheek right under the right eye and the bullet lodges right behind his ear. and that bullet is still with him. he's going to have to have further evaluation to figure out what they're going to do with that round. the st. louis county officer was struck right here on the shoulder and the bullet came out the middle of his right back. now, fortunately with both officers, we don't have any remarkable long-term injuries. in other words, there wasn't -- it wasn't in somebody's brain or heart or anything like this. but you need to know, these two officers took a very hard hit. any time you're shot in the face and have a bullet lodged in your head, any time that you have a through and through wound where the bullet enters your shoulder and comes out the middle of your right back, those are hard hits. we're lucky by god's grace we didn't lose two officers last night. >> and we know those two officers have been released from the hospital. i want to get the latest from my colleague martin savage and j

i'm still optimistic but considering what police chief john belmar said both these men could have died from what happened last night, one in the head one in the shoulder one was lodged in his head the other came out the other side of his shoulder. this is serious, serious business. >> it's incredibly serious business. it's horrendous. these were attempted assassinations and the perspective you gave us was perfect just to see about a football -- a little over a football field away is where apparently the shooter or shooters were positioned last night. you know also, though i know you've been in touch with and we have two different demonstrators and been such a message that has been a narrative put out there but the question is who did this right? i mean these could be out of towners, these could be obvious they're not mart of this peaceful protest movement. >> reporter: brooke yeah listen we don't know. but quite honestly it's hard to separate the two because everyone is focused. the entire world is focused on this little section of land right here in ferguson, missouri. and what has ha

louis and the chief of police jon belmar talking about the two officers wounded in ferguson last nightnforcement, to officers and family of officers that were shot. at 5:30 chief thomas jackson announces his resignation. we began to see protesters gather at the ferguson police department. i started tracking this about 8:01 last night. i got a call in my staff saying we expect protesters on the parking lot. we think there's going to be further protesters on the parking lot. i called my staff and i said listen i want this like we always do this. i want this to be a very measured response by the police department. by that i mean the st. louis county police department because the ferguson police department is right now back in control of the city of ferguson. i actually kind of stayed in touch with this until about 10:30 last night, went to bed. i was woke up about midnight with the news. at about 8:15 last night, protesters started blocking south florissant road in front of the pd. ferguson called a code 1000 which means the closest 25 cars that could be available to assist them at 8:27.

there's also a lot of disagreement right now, chief belmar who you mentioned just a few minutes ago, brooke said at his press conference these protesters were among the shooters who shot at the police officers. well protesters they disagree with that vehemently. they say that the shooters were not among them that they were in this parking lot area and the shooters were up on the hilliard as way but you have the police chief saying that the shooters were among them and that's certainly a strong charge being hotly disputed by many many witnesses, many protesters brooke. >> that's part of the frustration that the confusion, you know you have these in town peaceful protesters even those who come from out of town who want to be part of this message and they're obviously trying to distance themselves from whoever this individual or individuals who tried to assassinate these two officer, final question to you just perspectivewise, what's your sense in the community as far as what people think should happen to the ferguson police department? because you have one group that says nix the polic

i listened to chief belmar earlier today. one of the things he was talking about is an ambush. this is the same feeling, the same language many of my constituents have felt for a very long time under attack being harassed consistently for years on end, not having any hope whatsoever. if someone is drawing someone on the ground that is a non-violent way to express oneself. but i do not condone -- >> some people would think of that as a threat. >> here is what i would have to say, a threat is when someone shooting a police officer which is terrible. we don't want anymore lives to be taken, absolutely not. what we have to deal with is the anger and the hurt still existing on both sides. we want to protect people who are peacefully protesting as well as protect officers who are abiding by the law. so we're going to have to sit down and have this conversation and anyone who is acting violently, they are going to have to come to terms that no one is going to accept them not even the peaceful protesters. >> senator, i will say this and the chief alluded to this that it's very difficul

louis county police chief jon belmar. hours from now the the st.ouri state highway patrol will take over security for protests in ferguson until further notice. earlier today the mayor and ferguson city council weighed in on the shooting citing this act of violence has no place in our community or our country. they also addressed the recent department of justice report accusing the city of systemic racial bias. we have made changes at the highest level of our administration, police and courts. we are working to make changing necessary to instill confidence in the city, our police and our courts. joining me now from ferguson is nbc news correspondent jay gray. what can you tell us about the condition os the two officers who were shot? >> yeah as you just heard from the st. louis county chief, fortunate to be alive and released from the hospital today, alex. amazing to think about when one had a bullet through the shoulder. another had a bullet lodged in his skull. they were treated last night. stayed in the hospital overnight and released today. tha