Suspect in Ferguson shooting used gun reported stolen in Cape

FERGUSON, Mo. -- A suspect whom authorities say used a gun stolen from Cape Girardeau to open fire on police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, on the anniversary of Michael Brown's death was critically wounded when the officers shot back, St. Louis County's police chief said Monday.

But the father of the suspect, 18-year-old Tyrone Harris Jr., called the police version of events "a bunch of lies." He said his son was unarmed and had been drawn into a dispute involving two groups of young people.

Cape Girardeau Police Sgt. Adam Glueck confirmed the weapon, a 9 mm Sig Sauer, was stolen January 2014 in Cape Girardeau.

Glueck said jewelry and three firearms were reported stolen in a burglary, "and one of those firearms was the one that was recovered [in Ferguson]."

The other two firearms have yet to be recovered, he said.

Police had no suspects at the time of the burglary, and no one had been charged in connection with the theft, Glueck said.

St. Louis County prosecutors Monday announced 10 felony charges against Harris -- five counts of armed criminal action, four counts of first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and a firearms charge. Harris has not been charged in connection with the theft of the firearm. Harris' bond has been set at $250,000 cash only, online court records show.

St. Louis County police chief Jon Belmar said at a news conference that officers had been tracking the suspect, whom they believed was armed, during a protest marking the death of Brown, the black, unarmed 18-year-old whose killing by a white Ferguson police officer touched off the national "Black Lives Matter" movement.

At the height of what already was a rowdy protest in which rocks and bottles were thrown at officers, gunshots rang out from the area near a strip of stores, including some that had been looted. Belmar believes the shots came from about six shooters. It was not clear what prompted the exchange, but Belmar said the groups had been feuding.

At one point, the suspect crossed the street and apparently spotted the plainclothes officers arriving in an unmarked van with distinctive red and blue police lights, Belmar said. He said the suspect shot into the hood and windshield.

The officers fired back at him from inside the vehicle and pursued him on foot when he ran.

The suspect fired on officers again after he became trapped in a fenced-in area, the chief said, and all four officers fired back. He was struck and fell, Belmar said.

The suspect was taken to a hospital, where Belmar said he was in "critical, unstable" condition.

It was not immediately clear whether the latest police shooting of a black suspect would spur renewed unrest in Ferguson, the site of many protests -- some violent -- in the aftermath of Brown's death on Aug. 9 last year. Protest groups were quick to criticize the police response to protesters who gathered late Sunday along West Florissant Avenue.

The anniversary of Brown's killing, which cast greater scrutiny on how police interact with black communities, has sparked days of renewed protests, though until Sunday, they had been peaceful and without any arrests.

Tyrone Harris Sr. said his son was a friend of Michael Brown and was in Ferguson on Sunday night to pay respects.

Harris said his son got caught up in a dispute among two groups of young people and was "running for his life" after gunfire broke out. He said his son had no weapons.

"My son was running to the police to ask for help, and he was shot," he said. "It's all a bunch of lies. ... They're making my son look like a criminal."

The father said he spoke with two girls who were with his son.

None of the officers was seriously injured. All four have been put on administrative leave, a standard procedure. They were not wearing body cameras, Belmar said.

The shooting happened about 11:15 p.m. Sunday, sending protesters and reporters running for cover.

Belmar waved off any notion the people with the weapons were part of the protest.

"They were criminals. They weren't protesters," he said.

Some protest groups were critical of police.

"It was a poor decision to use plainclothes officers in a protest setting because it made it difficult for people to identify police officers, which is essential to the safety of community members," Kayla Reed, a field organizer with the Organization of Black Struggle, said in a statement.

Early Monday, another reported shooting drew officers to an apartment building in the area. Two males told police they were targeted in a drive-by shooting near the memorial to Brown outside Canfield Apartments. A 17-year-old was shot in the chest and shoulder, and a 19-year-old was shot in the chest, but their injuries were not life-threatening, the St. Louis County Police said in a news release.

Separately, police said a 17-year-old suspect has been charged with unlawful use of a weapon and one count of resisting arrest after he fired shots near the protesters late Sunday. He is being held on $100,000 bond.

Southeast Missourian staff writer Katherine Webster and Associated Press writer Jim Suhr and photographer Jeff Roberson contributed to this report.