The situation involving the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Mo. last week has come to a conclusion after the arrest and charging of the individual responsible. A Black man was arrested for the incident, which occurred during the resignation of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson.
Police charged Jeffrey Williams, 20, with the shooting two counts each of first-degree assault and armed criminal action and one count of firing a weapon from a vehicle. Williams is still being held in custody and has a cash-only bail set at $300,000. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Williams may have been firing his weapon at someone else at the protest gathering outside the Ferguson Police station although there seemed to be doubts regarding that assertion.
More from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
“It is possible that he was firing at someone other than the police,” St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch said at a news conference Sunday. He said civilians had been situated between Williams, who fired from a car, and the officers who were wounded.
McCulloch said Williams may have acted after a dispute with people over something that had nothing to do with the demonstration, but added, “I’m not sure we’re completely buying that part of it.
“We’re not 100 percent sure there was a dispute,” McCulloch noted.
Police say Williams confessed to the shooting but again claimed he was not aiming for police. McCulloch agreed only partly, stating that evidence could support Williams’ claims in a later investigation. Williams was on probation after being hit with a receiving stolen property charge. Police recovered a .40-caliber weapon in the region from where the shots were fired just after midnight last Thursday (Mar. 12).
A county officer, 41, and a Webster Groves officer, 32, were struck. Both of their injuries were treated and they were released that day.
Although several reports placed Williams among the throng of supporters in the protests, organizers of the event say that he was not part of their contingent nor did they know him prior.
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Photo: St. Louis County Police Department
