Ferguson, Mo. (NewsNation) — Two police officers were rushed to a local hospital Wednesday afternoon after being shot in Ferguson, Missouri, a northern suburb of St. Louis.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Jon Hayden Jr. said one officer was hit in the abdomen and is in very critical condition. The other officer was hit in the leg. He asked the public to pray for the officers.
The shooting happened as the officers were attempting to apprehend a suspect wanted in connection for an overnight homicide. Hayden told NewsNation affiliate KVTI the two officers were approaching the suspect’s vehicle when shots were fired at them. It’s unclear if the officers returned fire.
Police have not yet indicated if anyone is in custody. The two officers were both in their mid-20s. The one in serious condition had been with the department for 3 1/2 years. The other was 2 1/2 years.
Hayden said it’s been a difficult time for first responders lately. Two officers in the department were injured in a car wreck on I-64 earlier this week. A mobile reserve officer was also shot at Monday afternoon during a traffic stop.
Ferguson, Missouri, was the site of the 2014 police-involved shooting of Michael Brown, which triggered angry anti-police protests there and across the country in its aftermath.
Across the U.S., several police officers have also been shot in the past week. Early Wednesday morning, officials say a County Sheriff’s deputy was shot and wounded in Milwaukee after a traffic stop by a suspect later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Two officers were shot Friday in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, both of whom later died. On Sunday, an officer was ambushed, shot and killed in Houston, Texas.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
NewsNation affiliate KVTI and The Associated Press contributed to this report.