Four St. Louis police officers struck by gunfire amid protests in downtown area

Fireworks go off in front of police, who with protesters in front of police headquarters in St. Louis on Monday, June 1, 2020. The small group of protesters was originally part of a much larger group demonstrating earlier in the afternoon against the death of George Floyd. (Colter Peterson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) (Colter Peterson/AP)

Four police officers were struck by gunfire after peaceful demonstrations sparked by the in-custody death of George Floyd escalated into chaos in downtown St. Louis overnight.

“All have been transported to an area hospital,” the police department said on Twitter. “All are conscious and breathing. Their injuries are believed to be non-life threatening."

Two of the injured officers were shot in the leg, one in the foot, and a fourth in the arm, St. Louis Police Commissioner Colonel John Hayden Jr. told reporters during an emotional press briefing early Tuesday morning.

“They were standing near a line and all of a sudden they felt pain," he said. "They were just standing there. So some coward fired shots at officers and now we have four in the hospital.”

It came after hundreds of people gathered together in St. Louis again on Monday afternoon to protest the Memorial Day death of George Floyd. The 46-year-old was killed in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes while Floyd was in handcuffs.

Video of the incident was then shared online, sparking outrage nationwide and a week straight of protests across most major cities in the United States. Demonstrators set fire to a strip mall in Los Angeles, looted stores in New York City and clashed with police in Las Vegas, where another officer was shot overnight.

Earlier Monday, both St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson and St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards joined protesters for a rally downtown. From there, demonstrators marched to the Gateway Arch National Park and then onto nearby Interstate 64. But as the sun started to set, protesters gathered outside of police headquarters, where officers used tear gas to disperse the crowds.

Some protesters smashed windows at a downtown 7-11 store and stole items from inside before the building was set on fire. Moments later, a car was set ablaze and other nearby businesses looted.

Gov. Mike Parson, who is a Republican, on Monday said that the Missouri National Guard and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were on standby to assist in any instances of violence.