One St. Louis police officer critically injured, second hurt after shooting in Ferguson

ST. LOUIS — Two St. Louis police officers were shot and hospitalized and a man was shot and killed Wednesday after a police chase led to gunfire in a Ferguson neighborhood that continued a devastating month for city first responders.

The officers got a call around 1:15 p.m. that a white Toyota 4Runner connected to a recent homicide had been spotted in the city, said St. Louis County police, who are investigating the incident.

Police found the 4Runner and pursued it into Ferguson, where the SUV driver lost control and crashed near West Florissant Avenue and Lang Drive. There, at least one of three occupants, running away, opened fire on the officers, and the officers returned fire, police said.

One officer was struck in the leg. The other was shot in the abdomen and was in critical condition, undergoing emergency surgery Wednesday afternoon, St. Louis police Chief John Hayden told reporters outside Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

“I’m asking the public to pray for our officers,” Hayden said. “This is a very rough time for law enforcement and for the fire department as well.”

By day’s end Wednesday, police arrested two passengers of the 4Runner. The other, who had been shot, died at Barnes-Jewish, police said. Police found a long gun and pistol at the scene, they said.

The scene of the shooting had quickly grown tense earlier that afternoon. The two officers were shot just blocks from where Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson officer, fatally shot Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black man, in 2014, setting off months of unrest. On Wednesday, officers from across the region descended on the intersection. By 2 p.m., the street was full of squad cars and crime scene vans. Several residents gathered. Two women screamed.

It follows several recent injuries and deaths for area public safety workers. Less than two weeks ago, St. Louis firefighter Benjamin Polson was killed in the line of duty. This week, two other St. Louis police officers were struck by a vehicle while responding to a crash on Interstate 64. One is still in the hospital, Hayden said on Wednesday.

“The officers are out here working hard, doing everything that they can to keep people safe and we keep having these critical incidents,” Hayden said.

Authorities did not identify the homicide that led to Wednesday’s chase. But there was just one killing reported overnight by police, about 1 a.m. Wednesday outside Diana’s Royal Palace, a bar at 4266 Natural Bridge Avenue in the Greater Ville neighborhood.

In that shooting, police said four men approached another group of four people sitting in a car, announced a robbery and took some of their property. A security guard at the business then fired shots at the group.

Wednesday’s chase started in the 800 block of River Trail Court, off Riverview Drive in far north St. Louis. The officers, in full uniform and marked squad cars, spotted the 4Runner around 1 p.m. and tried to stop it, but it sped off, police said. The officers followed until the SUV crashed in Ferguson.

By 2 p.m., the streets were full of police, and the SUV was sitting on the west side of West Florissant at Lang, with both driver’s-side tires blown out.

By 3 p.m., at least two dozen police cars had arrived at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital emergency room, lining South Kingshighway for at least a block.

Police at the hospital were directing pedestrians across the street and away from the emergency entrance to the building.

Dozens of officers, in uniform and in plainclothes, were at the entrance. Around 3:05 p.m., Mayor Tishaura O. Jones arrived, and, soon thereafter, a police chaplain said a prayer.

Hayden thanked doctors and nurses who treated the injured officers at Barnes.

“If you had been there, you could have seen how feverishly they were working,” Hayden said. “They clearly were in desperation trying to make sure our officer is safe.”

The critically injured officer is 25, police said, and has been with the department for about 3 ½ years; the other officer is 28, and has been with the department for 2 ½ years.

Several aldermen who heard about the shooting during a meeting of the public safety committee reacted viscerally to the news.

Alderman Marlene Davis, who’s served on the board since 2007, called for prayers for the officers who were shot, as well as the two officers who were struck and injured Monday night on Interstate 64.

“Our city is under siege,” Davis said. “We are in a position where people believe they can do anything they want to do. ... I am just, again, so sorry that we are in the predicament that we are in, but we must do better and God have mercy on all of us.”

Alderman Jeffrey Boyd echoed Davis’ comments.

“Over the past several years, it just seems like the community has been so hard against our police officers,” Boyd said. “And they deserve a lot more respect and they deserve a lot more support.”

Joel Currier, Robert Patrick and Austin Huguelet of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.