Four officers shot during floyd violence in st. Louis

St. Louis-Four police officers were shot in downtown St. Louis on Tuesday as peaceful protests turned violent.

After midnight, four officers were shot near 16th and Olive streets. All of the officers were transported to local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Two officers were shot in the leg, one was shot in the leg, and one was shot in the arm.

"I believe some coward randomly shot at the police line," said St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden. "I don't know what else to say," Hayden said. "This is horrible."

St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said firefighters were slowed by protesters in responding to the fire at 7-Eleven at 201 N. 17th Street, which was looted and set on fire around 9:30 p.m.

“We had people lying down in the street,” Jenkerson said, adding that trash cans were rolled into the street that became obstacles for fire trucks to maneuver around.

"We tried to be peaceful already, and that didn't work," said Dustin Johnson, a 20-year-old downtown resident who remained downtown close to midnight.