2 officers shot in front of Ferguson police station

Washington, Mar 12 (EFE).- Two officers were severely wounded after being shot early Thursday in front of a police station in Ferguson, the city where a black man was killed by a white policeman in August last year.

The officers were transferred to Barnes-Jewish hospital in St. Louis with severe injuries, St. Louis County police chief Jon Belmar told the media.

One of the wounded officers, 41, was hurt in the shoulder, while the other, 32, was hurt in the face.

So far, no suspects have been identified and neither has any information been provided about any developments related to the incident.

"As I have said all along, we cannot sustain this forever without problems (...) this is a very, very, very dangerous environment for the officers to work in," Belmar said.

The incident occurred on a night when several people were demonstrating in front of the police station following the resignation of Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson.

The removal of Jackson was one of the main demands of the protesters after Michael Brown was killed by a white officer in August last year.

Jackson stepped down Wednesday following negative reports from the Department of Justice about discrimination by the city's officers and authorities.

This was the third resignation by a high-level official in Ferguson this week, following those of City Manager John Shaw and Municipal Judge Ronald Brockmeyer.

The justice department's report published last week questioned the practices of Ferguson's police department, justice department and other authorities.