Two officers shot outside Ferguson police department

Protesters write slogans in chalk outside the City of Ferguson Police Department and Municipal Court in Ferguson, Missouri, March 11, 2015. Two police officers were shot during a protest outside Ferguson, Missouri police headquarters early on Thursday, police said, just hours after the city’s police chief quit following a damning U.S. Justice Department report into his force. Photo by Kate Munsch/Reuters

Two police officers were shot during a protest outside Ferguson, Missouri, police headquarters at about midnight on Thursday, police said. They were hospitalized in serious condition.

The two officers were a 41 year old from the St. Louis County Police Department who was struck in the shoulder and a 32 year old from nearby Webster Groves Police Department who was hit in the face, said St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar. He did not identify the officers by name.

The shooting came hours after the city’s police chief Thomas Jackson resigned, following a critical report about the police force from the Justice Department.

They were the latest developments stemming from the August shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson, who a grand jury decided not to indict. Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced it would not bring federal civil rights charges against Wilson.

Several dozen protesters had gathered in front of the Ferguson police department on Wednesday night.

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