Suspect Injured After Opening Fire on Police During Michael Brown Anniversary Protest

One man was shot and injured over the weekend during a Michael Brown protest in Ferguson, Missouri when police claimed he opened fire on them.

Sunday marked the one year anniversary of the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was killed during an incident with Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in 2014.

While the majority of protests remained peaceful, gunfire broke out when a protester in his 20's reportedly opened fire on officers, according to St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar.

"We cannot continue, we cannot talk about the good things that we have been talking about, if we are prevented from moving forward with this kind of violence," he said.

"Protesters are people who are out there to effect change," the police chief added.

Belmar went on to describe the violent participants in the weekend marches as "criminals" rather than protesters.

"This didn't have to happen," he said. "People in our community [...] worked too hard for this to happen [...] This really is an impediment to positive change."

The suspect in question reportedly underwent surgery for his gunshot wounds at a local hospital.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch also released a statement condemning the attack and other violence that took place over the protest weekend.

"As we have seen over the recent months and years, not only does violence obscure any message of peaceful protest, it places the community, as well as the officers who seek to protect it, in harm's way," Lynch said in a statement Monday.