As if tensions in Ferguson, Missouri, weren't already running high, a police officer shot and critically injured a man overnight, not far from where local residents have gathered to protest this weekend's Michael Brown shooting.
According to local news accounts, officers responded to reports of gunfire around 1 a.m. When the police were confronted with a man who allegedly pointed a gun at them, an officer fired and wounded the suspect. All of this followed a third night of protests, which again included police launching tear gas into crowds.
Trymaine Lee today talked to the police chief near the center of the story.
Police Chief Thomas Jackson has landed in what could be described as a nightmare scenario for the head of a largely segregated police department: the racially fraught and inexplicable killing of an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, by a white officer on the Ferguson force. In an exclusive interview with msnbc, Jackson said his fear is not of the understandably angry residents, but "the anarchists that are coming in, the people that don't want healing, the people that just want to continue to fight." "Those are the people I'm concerned about," he said.
The rest of Lee's interview with Jackson is well worth checking out.
As for questions surrounding Brown's shooting, Jackson told the media today that the still unnamed officer who shot the unarmed teenager "suffered injuries to his face but was not shot." The police chief added that he's unaware of any video of the incident.
Jackson went to urge protesters to remain peaceful and gather during the day. "They're looking for answers," he said. "I understand that. I understand the anger."
For those who missed it, here Rachel's report on Ferguson from last night: