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Last Updated Mar 12, 2015 2:20 PM EDT

Attorney General Eric Holder harshly condemned the "damn punk" responsible for shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri early Thursday morning, saying the incident "turned my stomach."

"What happened last night was a pure ambush," Holder said. "This was not someone trying to bring healing to Ferguson, this was a damn punk who was trying to sow discord."

"I want to be very clear here: I unequivocally condemn these repugnant attacks," Holder said. "All of us in the law enforcement family and all Americans across the country are praying for the safe recovery" of the two officers who were shot.

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In an earlier statement, Holder said the shooting threatens "the very reforms that nonviolent protesters in Ferguson and around the country have been working towards for the past several months."

The two officers were shot during a protest that came just hours after Ferguson's police chief, Thomas Jackson, resigned in the wake of a Justice Department report that found widespread patterns of racial bias in the Ferguson police force. Neither of the two officers was a member of the Ferguson force, though - one was a St. Louis County police officer, and another was from a nearby department in Webster Groves. They both remain in serious condition at a local hospital.

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Holder: "Damn punk" responsible for shooting cops in Ferguson

TIME U.S. Ferguson Shooter Is a Damn Punk, Eric Holder Says Chip SomodevillaGetty Images U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder delivers remarks about the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Mo., while announcing the first six pilot sites for the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2015 The Attorney General offered the Justice Department's support in the manhunt for the shooter of two Ferguson police officers

The gunman who wounded two police officers in Ferguson, Mo., is a damn punk, Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday.

The two officers were shot early Thursday morning at a protest in front of the Ferguson Police Department after the Ferguson police chief announced his resignation in the wake of a excoriating Department of Justice report that found widespread racial bias among the citys police. The shooter was still at large as of Thursday afternoon.

This was not someone trying to bring healing to Ferguson, Holder said at a gathering for the Justice Departments launch of a pilot program to build trust between law enforcement and local communities. This was a damn punk who was trying to sow discord in an area thats trying to get its act together and trying to bring together a community that has been fractured for too long.

The Attorney General reiterated a statement he released earlier in the day condemning the heinous attack and offering the support of the Justice Department and the FBI.

He also said that local law enforcement in Ferguson has made good faith steps since the release of the Justice Department report last week.

But make no mistake, we still have a long way to go to bring about this systemic change that is needed and that is long overdue in that area, he said. But I think the earlier indications have truly been positive.

Read next: The Road from Selma to Ferguson

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Ferguson Shooter Is a Damn Punk, Eric Holder Says

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on March 4, 2015
The U.S. Department of Justice conducted an extensive investigation of the Ferguson, MO police department which ended up being expanded to areas with the general municipality. The finding...

By: Destiny K. Coleman

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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on March 4, 2015 - Video

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2015 file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder speaks to law enforcement officers and guests in the Old Executive Office Building on the White House Complex in Washington. The share of federal drug offenders who received harsh mandatory minimum sentences has plunged in the past year, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press that Holder plans to cite Tuesday in arguing for the success of his criminal justice policies. Experts credit Holder for helping raise sentencing policy as a public issue, but they also say it's hard to gauge how much of the impact is directly attributable to his actions. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

The Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Federal officials are planning to announce Birmingham as one of six pilot sites for a national initiative on restoring relationships between law enforcement and citizens.

The United States Attorney's office for the Northern District of Alabama says Attorney General Eric Holder will announce the sites on Thursday for the department's National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice. Holder is also expected to hold a discussion with students and police officers before announcing the sites for the pilot program at 2 p.m.

The initiative was announced in April and is a partnership between federal officials and criminal justice experts focused on providing training, policy and research to address distrust between citizens and law enforcement.

The initiative comes after several high profile fatal police-involved shootings involving unarmed blacks and Latino men.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Federal officials are planning to announce Birmingham as one of six pilot sites for a national initiative on restoring relationships between law enforcement and citizens.

The United States Attorney's office for the Northern District of Alabama says Attorney General Eric Holder will announce the sites on Thursday for the department's National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice. Holder is also expected to hold a discussion with students and police officers before announcing the sites for the pilot program at 2 p.m.

The initiative was announced in April and is a partnership between federal officials and criminal justice experts focused on providing training, policy and research to address distrust between citizens and law enforcement.

The initiative comes after several high profile fatal police-involved shootings involving unarmed blacks and Latino men.

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Birmingham picked as pilot site for police initiative

10-72404, 13-73367 Kawaldeep Sethi v. Eric Holder, Jr.
Citizens of India petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals #39; denial of their applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture,...

By: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

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10-72404, 13-73367 Kawaldeep Sethi v. Eric Holder, Jr. - Video