Black man critically wounded by police in Ferguson

An African American man was critically wounded in a gun battle with police in Ferguson, Missouri, after a day of protests to mark the first anniversary of the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the man was shot Sunday night after opening fire on an unmarked police car shortly before midnight, following a day of peaceful rallies over the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

The wounded man was armed with a stolen handgun and was involved in an exchange of gunfire with another party before firing on four plainclothes officers, Belmar said at an overnight news conference.

The man was hospitalized in critical and unstable condition, and was undergoing surgery, he added.

“I can tell you that it was a remarkable amount of gunfire,” Belmar said, estimating that 40 or 50 shots were fired in 45 seconds. He did not identify the officers or the man they shot, but said the man who was shot was about 20 years old.

Tyrone Harris Sr. identified the victim as his 18-year-old son, Tyrone Harris Jr. from St. Louis, Missouri, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper.

Harris said his son had come out of surgery and noted that his son and Michael Brown “were real close,” having both attended the same high school. “We think there’s a lot more to this than what’s being said,” Harris Sr. said.

The night-time violence in the streets that preceded the shootout came after a day of demonstrations, during which police clashed with the protesters.

Brown was shot multiple times and killed last year in Ferguson by white police officer Darren Wilson, sparking months of violent protests across the United States.