The shooting of two police officers during protests in Ferguson was 'a professional job' by a sniper-style gunman, witnesses have claimed. Both officers were struck outside the police headquarters by shots believed to come from across the street from up to 120 yards away, possibly from a rooftop building. One was shot in the right shoulder, with the bullet exiting through his back. The other in the right cheek, just below the eye. The bullet lodged behind his ear. Speculation is now growing that it must have been the work of a highly skilled shooter possibly using a rifle. Scroll down for video . Tensions: Protesters gather outside the Ferguson Police Department in Ferguson a day after two officers were shot during demonstrations . Both officers were struck outside the police headquarters by shots believed to come from across the street from up to 120 yards away . A police officer removes a demonstrator from the middle of the street during a protest in front of the police station in Ferguson . Sit-in protest: A police officer prepares to remove a demonstrator from the middle of the street during a demonstration outside the station . A witness told Fox News: 'This was a professional job, a sniper type of deal because you could hear the silencer on the gun. 'Living in North St Louis, you know what a shotgun sounds like, unfortunately.But you could tell that was a very professional job.' The witness, who did not give his name, claimed that the shots came from the rooftop of a building across the street from the police headquarters. Gabe Crocker, head of the St Louis Police Association, said the circumstances of the shooting suggest that the gunman may be someone with weapons experience. Protesters called for calm but vowed to keep pushing for change in Ferguson a day after the shootings. Dozens gathered for a candlelight vigil last night, where they expressed sympathy for the wounded officers. They also prayed for peace as Ferguson moves forward in the wake of a scathing Justice Department report on racial bias in its law-enforcement practices. Protesters lie in the street in front of the Ferguson Police Department. Officers from the St Louis County Police Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol were summoned to bolster security but largely stood idle in the distance . Making his views known: A protester talks with a police officer in front of the Ferguson Police Department tensions remained high in the city . On alert: St Louis County police officers stand in riot gear as protesters demonstrate outside the Ferguson Police Department in Ferguson . A larger crowd of about 200 protesters gathered later outside the police department, but the scene was a marked contrast to the previous night, when fights broke out before the shootings. Some called for specific changes: the resignation of Ferguson's mayor or the disbanding of the police department. Others were there to remember 18-year-old Michael Brown, whose shooting death by a Ferguson police officer in August made the city a national focal point. 'We'll not be derailed in the pursuit of justice by anybody or anything that wants to get in our way,' said the Rev Traci Blackmon, a member of the state's Ferguson Commission who led the prayer vigil at a public plaza in downtown Ferguson near the police department. 'We refuse to stop.' Officers from the St Louis County Police Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol were summoned to bolster security but largely stood idle in the distance. The protesters had largely disbanded by 11.30pm. No arrests were made. The shootings just after midnight on Thursday came as protesters had gathered after the resignation of the city's embattled police chief. Up in arms: Protesters called for calm but vowed to keep pushing for change in Ferguson a day after the shootings . Vocal: Protesters gathered later outside the police department, but the scene was a marked contrast to the previous night . Taking a stand: A protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask holds a sign as demonstrators march through the streets of Ferguson . They marked the first time in more than seven months of tension in Ferguson that officers were shot at a protest, and the bloodshed threatened to inflame the already fraught relationship between police and demonstrators. Both wounded officers were released from the hospital Thursday, but St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar - who called the attack an ambush - said they could have been killed. One was shot in the right shoulder, the bullet exiting through his back. The other in the right cheek, just below the eye. The bullet lodged behind his ear. Several people were taken in for questioning but were later released and no arrests were made by late Thursday. Three people were rounded up and taken from their home in a pre-dawn raid carried out by a SWAT team. Lamont Underwood, 47, Iresha Turner, 22, and Martez Little, 25, were handcuffed and questioned, but they were eventually released without charge. All three were taking part in a rowdy demonstration in front of the Ferguson Police Department when shots rang out in the crowd, sending protesters running for their lives and leaving two offices wounded. Speaking to The Guardian, Underwood and Turner denied playing any part in the shooting, but said that they drew suspicion because they fled the scene. In the early hours of Thursday morning, a heavily armed SWAT team surrounded the Dade Avenue home shared by Underwood, Little and Turner and climbed over its roof in search of the cop shooter and the gun used in what St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar described as an 'ambush' attack. Officers scoured the home and seized a gun from the attic, which Turner said they have been keeping for protection and self-defense. 'I feel disrespected,' said Underwood. 'I kept telling them I didn’t know anything about who shot the cop. Eventually they said they believed me.' Clergy and other religious leaders participate in a candlelight memorial vigil near the the Ferguson Police Department in Ferguson . Vigil: People hold candles and pray during a prayer near the Ferguson Police Department where two police officers were shot . The 47-year-old Ferguson resident described the SWAT raid as terrifying and disturbing. Underwood said officers barged into the house with their guns drawn and yelled at him and the others that they were the target of the raid. Iresha Turner recounted how she and the other inhabitants of the house, including her 6-year-old son, were awakened at 3am by the sounds of police pounding on the door. ‘We were forced outside. I looked down at my chest and there was a red dot on my chest. I said, “I surrender I surrender please don’t shoot me,”’ the young mother recalled. In Washington, President Barack Obama took to Twitter to relay his prayers to the officers and to denounce violence against police. 'Path to justice is one all of us must travel together,' Obama wrote, signing the tweet with his initials to indicate the president personally composed it. Attorney General Eric Holder said the gunman was 'a damn punk' who was 'trying to sow discord in an area that was trying to get its act together, trying to bring together a community that had been fractured for too long.' In a statement, Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III and the city council said that although they respect the right to protest peacefully, 'we cannot continue to move forward under threats of violence and destruction to our community. 'We ask our residents and clergy in this area to partner with us as we make our way through this process.' Police have converged on a home in Ferguson and taken people in for questioning following the shootings of two police officers . The SWAT team could be seen targeting the Ferguson home's attic as the search to find the gunman intensified . Under suspicion: Iresha Turner (left), 22, and Martez Little (right), 25, were among three people who were taken in for questioning after their house was raided by a SWAT team following the Ferguson police shooting . Scary experience: Iresha Turner recounted how she and the other inhabitants of the house were awakened at 3am by the sounds of police pounding on the door. She said: 'I looked down at my chest and there was a red dot on my chest.' The calls for healing and reconciliation weren't received favourably by all. As participants gathered before the prayer vigil Thursday night, shouts of 'white power' came from a passing pickup truck. Brown's August shooting by former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson prompted protests locally and across the nation, and tensions escalated in November after a county grand jury declined to prosecute Wilson. Justice Department investigators concurred with that finding in a report released March 4. The Justice Department also released a separate report that day that found racial profiling in the city police force, and a municipal court system driven by profit, largely on the backs of black and low-income residents. Police Chief Tom Jackson's resignation on Wednesday marked the sixth departure or firing in the week since the release of that report. Ferguson's court clerk was fired and the municipal judge, two police officers and the city manager voluntarily stepped aside. Wilson resigned in November.
Witnesses claim shooting during protests outside police station was 'a professional job' by a sniper-style gunman . Both officers were struck by shots believed to come from up to 120 yards away, possibly from a rooftop building . Head of the St Louis Police Association said it suggested the gunman may be someone with weapons experience . Dozens gathered for a candlelight vigil to call for calm and express sympathy for the wounded police officers .