FERGUSON, Mo., (Reuters) – Nearly 48 hours after two officers were shot in racially charged Ferguson, Missouri, investigators had dozens of leads but no arrests to report yesterday in the hunt for a gunman who turned a late-night protest against police into bedlam.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said authorities had “a pretty good idea” where the gunshots that wounded the officers had originated, without providing any specifics.
The kind of gun used, the shooter’s motivation and any connection to the protesters remained a mystery, prolonging uncertainty for a town that has come to symbolize America’s struggle with race relations and policing.
The latest bout of violence in the St. Louis suburb, first rattled by the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white officer last summer, brought out signs of sympathy for the police.
One protester stood opposite the Ferguson police department with a sign “Cops Lives Matter,” playing on the “Black Lives Matter” slogan that sprang up in the wake of the deaths of Brown and an unarmed black man in New York City.
