Protestors block a police vehicle from entering the City of Ferguson Police Department and Municipal Court parking lot in Ferguson Missouri, March 11, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

FERGUSON - Two police officers were shot during a protest outside the Ferguson, Missouri police department early on Thursday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper reported.

The Post-Dispatch reported that Ferguson Lt. Col. Al Eickhoff said he did not believe either of the officers were part of his department. He could not provide details on their injuries to the Post-Dispatch.

A few dozen demonstrators fled following the sound of gunfire around midnight with some screaming, "They hit a cop," according to a Reuters photographer at the scene. Police could not be reached immediately for comment.

A few dozen demonstrators fled following the sound with some screaming, "They hit a cop," around midnight, the photographer said. Police could not be reached immediately for comment.

Several dozen protesters had gathered in front of the Ferguson police department earlier on Wednesday night, just hours after the city's police chief, Thomas Jackson, announced his resignation.

Protesters had called for Jackson's removal since the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014. The killing triggered nationwide protests and drew scrutiny to police use of deadly force, especially against black men.

Jackson's departure was the latest in a string of officials who stepped down following a scathing report from the US Justice Department that found widespread racially biased abuses in the city's police department and municipal court.