Investigators searching for the gunman who shot two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, were no closer Friday to arresting anyone, and a top police official admitted that he was no longer sure if the shooter specifically targeted cops. St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar appeared to have stepped back from his earlier statement, in which he described the attack in no uncertain terms as 'an ambush' on Ferguson's police force. Belmar also told reporters Friday that he 'honestly couldn't tell you for sure' whether the mystery shooter was associated with the protesters who were picketing the Ferguson Police Department Wednesday night. Scroll down for video . Uncertainty: St Louis County Chief Jon Belmar backed away from his earlier statement, in which he described the Wednesday attack on police officers as 'an ambush' Aftermath: Police crime scene tape lies in the gutter outside the Ferguson Police Department at the spot where two police officers were shot during protests March 12 . Stymied: Dozens of tips have come in linked to the shooting, but police were no closer to identifying and apprehending the suspect or suspects . Doubt: Chief Belmar told reporters Friday that he 'honestly couldn't tell you for sure' whether the shooter was associated with protesters . Grateful public: Residents who support the police and city government show their appreciation as they stand in the rain outside the Ferguson Police Department Friday . Despite 'working around the clock' over the past 48 hours and following up on dozens of tips, police so far have made no headway in identifying and arresting the person or people responsible for the bloodshed. 'I cannot tell you at this point that an arrest is imminent. There is certainly nobody in custody,' Belmar said. 'When we get to the point where we feel like we have active leads, if we can do anything through you to have the community assist us, we will certainly let you know.' Ferguson hit the headlines in August when a white policeman fatally shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, setting off protests that spread to major cities across the United States and triggered a national debate about police tactics, especially in relation to African Americans. Last week a scathing US Justice Department report faulted Ferguson for using its police and municipal court to generate revenue by targeting the African-American majority in the St. Louis suburb of 21,000. Wednesday night's shooting came hours after Ferguson's embattled police chief Thomas Jackson resigned. The city manager and municipal judge have also quit. One of the police officers was hit in the face, the other in the shoulder, sparking a manhunt for those responsible and putting the flashpoint town on edge once more. Neither police officer was seriously hurt, and both have since been released from the hospital. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Chief Belmar told reporters the officers, a 41-year-old county police officer and a 32-year-old colleague from a nearby police department, were attacked 'just because they were police officers' by someone 'embedded' among the protesters. He added: 'I would have to make an assumption that these shots were directed exactly at my police officers.' SWAT raid: Armed police raided a red-brick bungalow Thursday and took in three people for questioning, but no charges were filed . Martez Litte (left) and Iresha Turner (right) were among the three people questioned and released as part of the investigation . But on Friday, Belmar seemed far less certain of the circumstances of the incident. 'It’s kind of really hard to speculate what kind of nexus may or may not have existed between the shooters and any individual who would have been out there,' said Belmar. The chief also said during the press conference that the department has received more than two dozen tips, although he conceded that not too many people saw what exactly happened that night. 'The detectives are working around the clock,' Belmar told reporters Friday. 'They will not rest until they get to the point where we have a conclusion to this investigation.' Police raided a red-brick bungalow Thursday and took in three people for questioning. Lamont Underwood,47,  Iresha Turner, 22, and Martez Little, 25, were later released, and no charges were filed. On Friday, the chief confirmed that the trio of people, whose home on Dade Avenue was searched by a SWAT team Thursday, were not suspects in the shooting. 'Please appreciate the fact that we have a situation where many leads come in to us,' Belmar said. 'There were several leads that came in to us regarding that specific house. We were able to investigate that.' Since Thursday, St. Louis County Police and Missouri's highway patrol have taken over responsibility for monitoring the nightly protests outside Ferguson's police station. Tense: Wednesday night's shooting came hours after Ferguson's embattled police chief Thomas Jackson resigned, setting off a protest outside the town's police headquarters . A protester yells at police outside the Ferguson Police Department, Wednesday, March 11 . Bloodshed: One of the police officers was hit in the face, the other in the shoulder. Here, police shine a light on their wounded colleague's blood-spattered helmet . President Barack Obama condemned Wednesday's shooting during an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live late-night TV talk show. 'What had been happening in Ferguson was oppressive and objectionable and was worthy of protest,' Obama said, referring to Brown's death and the findings that black Americans were targeted by overzealous policing in the town, where most of the force is white. 'But there was no excuse for criminal acts," he said. Calls for Ferguson's Republican mayor James Knowles to resign have been growing, but he told CNN that he intends to remain in the office that he won by acclamation last year, prior to Brown's shooting. 'There are ways to remove me if that is the will of the people,' Knowles said, referring to the ability for local residents to petition for the recall of a disliked elected official. Knowles told National Public Radio that Ferguson remains tense. 'Officers are concerned for their safety. Residents are concerned for their own safety right now,' he said.
St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said Friday they were no closer to making an arrest in Wednesday's shooting of two officers . He stepped back from earlier assertion that the shooting was an 'ambush' and that the gunman was 'embedded' among protesters . No one is in custody at this time and an arrest is not imminent, Belmar said . Two dozen tips have come in over the past 48 hours and detectives were 'working around the clock,' the chief said .