Police have received more than two dozen tips as they hunt for a gunman who shot two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, during a protest Wednesday, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said Friday.
"The detectives are working around the clock," Belmar told reporters Friday. "They will not rest until they get to the point where we have a conclusion to this investigation."
Belmar said both officers are expected to make a full recovery. A St. Louis County police officer was shot in the shoulder and an officer from the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves was shot in the face as they stood outside Ferguson police headquarters.
Belmar said it is unknown whether a single gunman opened fire or if someone else was involved. He said that several people who were questioned Thursday after SWAT officers converged on a house are not suspects in the shooting.
"There aren’t a lot of people I think that really saw exactly what happened," he said. Three or four shots rang out at around midnight, police said, and video of the incident showed protesters and police ducking for cover. Belmar said it appears the shots came from about 125 yards away.
Ferguson has seen months of protests after an unarmed black 18-year-old, Michael Brown, was shot and killed by a white police officer in August. The Department of Justice released a report last week said a the St. Louis suburb suffered from a culture of racially biased policing.
St. Louis Regional Crimestoppers have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to a shooter or shooters.
The names of the officers who were shot have not been released. Belmar said both were doing "remarkably well" when he visited them in the hospital Thursday. They were both released later that day.
"We were maybe less than an inch away from a tragedy with both of these officers," Belmar said. "I wouldn’t want to roll those dice if it were me. I am grateful for the fact I think both these officers are going to be able to fully recover."
IN-DEPTH
- Two Officers Shot During Protest Near Ferguson Police Department
- 'Senseless': Michael Brown's Parents Condemn Shooting of Officers
- Calm Protests in Ferguson After Officers Are Shot