March 15--A 20-year-old man has confessed to shooting and wounding two police officers during a demonstration outside the Ferguson Police Department last week, officials said Sunday, but it isn't clear whether he was aiming at the police or at someone in the crowd of demonstrators over a personal argument.
Jeffrey Williams, who lives near Ferguson, was arrested Saturday night. Officials found a .40-caliber handgun at his home, officials said, and investigators said he told them that he'd shot at someone in a crowd of demonstrators over a personal dispute.
"He has acknowledged firing the shots," St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said at a televised news conference, adding, "It's possible he was firing shots at someone other than the police but struck the police officers."
McCulloch said officials had not confirmed Williams' claim that he had a dispute with someone in the crowd that had "nothing to do with the demonstrations going on."
A local pastor and organizer who visited Williams in jail Sunday told the Los Angeles Times that Williams said he had been robbed by someone at the protest and that he regretted the shooting.
"He was very remorseful, very apologetic, saying that's not what his heart's desire [was] to do, and he wished he could replay it over again," Bishop Derrick Robinson of the Kingdom Destiny Fellowship said.
The shooting early Thursday came amid a fresh wave of turmoil over a U.S. Justice Department investigative report finding that Ferguson police were unconstitutionally targeting and harassing the city's predominantly black residents. The investigation was triggered by a white officer's killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, on Aug. 9. A local grand jury had refused to charge Officer Darren Wilson, who has since resigned.
Williams, who had been wanted on a probation violation after a conviction for receiving stolen property, had apparently fired the shots from a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am, and members of the public supplied the information that led to his arrest, officials and charging documents said.
Federal investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives helped examine the ballistics evidence, according to a statement from U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr.
"This arrest sends a clear message that acts of violence against our law enforcement personnel will never be tolerated," Holder said Sunday. "The swiftness of this action is a credit to the significant cooperation between federal authorities and the St. Louis County Police Department."
Williams is being held at the St. Louis County Justice Center in lieu of a $300,000 cash-only bond, McCulloch said. He faces two charges of first-degree assault, one count of firing a weapon from a vehicle and three counts of armed criminal action. If convicted, he could face life in prison. It was not clear whether he had an attorney.
McCulloch said Williams had previously attended demonstrations and had been at the demonstration on the night of the shooting. But local activists, organizers and journalists largely said they didn't know Williams or recognize him from his mugshot.
Robinson said Williams told him that he had been at the protest Wednesday night but was not a regular demonstrator. "He hasn't protested, he wasn't actually a protester, he was actually coming out to support one night and just kind of being there to support the people," the bishop told The Times.
"He said he had been robbed by some of the protesters, and I asked him if he had got robbed, he should have not reacted out of frustration or anger, but he should have allowed the leaders that were present to address it and handle it right then," Robinson said, adding that he was "assuming" the alleged robbery happened at the demonstration.
Some of Ferguson's prominent activists said they didn't recall Williams.
"I don't know him at all," Tony Rice, who witnessed the shooting, told the Los Angeles Times. "I have more hours on the ground than anyone. This guy is a lone wolf."
DeRay Mckesson, another prominent activist who witnessed the shooting, tweeted, "No, I cannot recall ever seeing the suspected shooter, Jeffrey Williams, at any protests, including the night in question."
No one under the name Jeff or Jeffrey Williams appears to have given media interviews at protests over the last few months, according to a quick search of news reports on Google.
The shooting occurred as the protest was winding down outside the Ferguson Police Department, where dozens of officers from various agencies had gathered in riot gear to monitor a crowd that had peaked to around 200 people and then dwindled to about 50.
Seven witnesses at the scene told The Times that about four shots were fired from a hill that overlooks the station, where muzzle flashes, but not a shooter, could be seen. Shots could be heard whizzing past demonstrators where they had gathered in two parking lots across the street from the police station.
An officer from the St. Louis County Police Department, 41 years old and a 14-year veteran, was shot in the shoulder, and an officer from the Webster Groves Police Department, 32, was shot in the face, with the bullet lodging behind his ear. The officers have not been identified by name.
Both officers were hospitalized with serious injuries but were treated and released on the same day, officials said.
Demonstrators quickly scattered, and when police later searched the hill, they found shell casings, officials said.
Those shell casings matched the .40-caliber handgun found at Williams' home, officials said. Holder, in his statement, said the ATF's "ballistic imaging technology has played a critical role in the ongoing investigation."
"In the days ahead, we will continue to partner with the authorities in St. Louis County to secure justice for all those affected by this heinous and cowardly crime," Holder said. "And we will continue to stand vigilant in support of public safety officers and the communities they serve."
The shooting came hours after Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson announced Wednesday that he planned to resign, effective March 19. The chief's resignation was welcomed by many activists, who had gathered that night at the police station to also seek the resignation of Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III.
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FOR THE RECORD
3:36 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said the mayor was James Knowles II.
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UPDATES
3:18 p.m.: Updated with interview from Bishop Derrick Robinson.
1:59 p.m.: Updated throughout, including with comments from Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr.
12:31 p.m.: This article has been updated with authorities naming the suspect, saying he confessed, reaction from protesters.
This article was originally posted at 11:02 a.m.
