As the hunt for suspects in the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, extended into a third day, activists took the first steps on Saturday to force the mayor out of office while residents awaited signs of progress in the investigation.
A group called Organization for Black Struggle (OBS) said it is starting a petition to recall Mayor James Knowles. He is one of the few senior city officials remaining after the police chief, a municipal judge and others resigned following a US Department of Justice report on March 4 depicting a Ferguson police force mired in racial bias.
An uneasy quiet prevailed in the St. Louis suburb, in contrast with the mayhem that erupted near midnight on Thursday when gunshots rang out during a protest rally, wounding a pair of officers.
The shooting on Thursday sent a fresh jolt of tension through a city that has become a symbol of racial conflict since a black teenager was killed by a white police officer last August and a grand jury returned no criminal charges.
Knowles, a Republican who was 31 when he was first elected in 2011 in a non-partisan election, said on Friday that it would be up to voters to remove him from the part-time job.
Steve Moore, owner of the Celebrity Soul Food Restaurant, said that when he moved to his current location, Knowles was one of his first customers, asking if there was anything the city could do to help.
Some Ferguson residents said they were growing weary, especially after the latest spasm of violence, despite sympathy for protesters who have been out in force since the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
Parker also worries about the impact the shooting of the officers will have on the push for reforms in Ferguson.
A day earlier, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said investigators had dozens of leads and authorities had "a pretty good idea" where the gunshots had originated, but said no arrests were imminent. He had nothing to say about the kind of gun used, the shooter's motivation and any connection to the protesters.
In Thursday's shooting, a 41-year-old county police officer suffered a shoulder wound and a 32-year-old colleague from a nearby police department sustained a facial wound that left a bullet lodged near his ear. Both were treated and released from hospital.
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