A suspect has been arrested in last week’s shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri. The attack occurred outside the Ferguson police headquarters as protesters marked the ouster of Police Chief Tom Jackson following months of activism. The suspect has been identified as 20-year-old Jeffrey Williams. St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said he may not have deliberately targeted police, but instead someone in the crowd with whom he had a dispute.
Robert McCulloch: “Essentially what we’ve charged him with is firing shots. It’s possible at this point that he was firing shots at someone other than the police, but struck the police officers. So the charge is still assault in the first degree, and they’re class-A felonies for striking those two officers. There was a weapon recovered, which has been tied to the shell casings that were recovered there, the weapon recovered from him, and he has acknowledged his participation in firing the shots or his — that in fact he did fire the shots that struck the two officers.”
Williams was identified with public help. McCulloch described him as a protester, but several Ferguson activists say he did not take part in the demonstrations.