New Ferguson Shooting News: Eric Holder Calls Unidentified Assailant of 2 Police Officers a 'Damn Punk'

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder condemned the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, last Thursday, saying this was done by a "damn punk."

The police officers were shot while protesters were gathered near the Ferguson Police Department following the resignation of Ferguson Police chief Tom Jackson.

"What happened last night was pure ambush," he told reporters. "This was not someone trying to bring healing to Ferguson. This was a damn punk."

He said the shooter was "trying to sow discord in an area that is trying to get its acts together and trying to bring together a community that has been fractured for too long," he said.

Two St. Louis area police officers were shot and sustained non-life threatening injuries, according to the St. Louis Police Department.

One of them was 41 years old who is a 14-year veteran in law enforcement. He was shot in the shoulder. The other is 32 years old who was shot in the face.

The two were in serious condition but have now been released from Barnes Jewish Hospital, the police said. No suspect has so far been identified.

Holder said the shooting of the two officers "was inexcusable and repugnant."

"I condemn violence against any public safety officials in the strongest terms, and the Department of Justice will never accept any threats or violence directed at those who serve and protect our communities—from this cowardly action, to the killing of an officer in Philadelphia last week while he was buying a game for his son, to the tragic loss of a Deputy U.S. Marshal in the line of duty in Louisiana earlier this week," he said in a statement.

He said the incident only threatens "the very reforms that nonviolent protesters in Ferguson and around the country have been working towards for the past several months."

"We wish these injured officers a full and speedy recovery," he said. "We stand ready to offer any possible aid to an investigation into this incident, including the department's full range of investigative resources. And we will continue to stand unequivocally against all acts of violence against cops whenever and wherever they occur."

President Obama tweeted, "Violence against police is unacceptable. Our prayers are with the officers in MO. Path to justice is one all of us must travel together."