Police charged a young African-American man in connection with the shooting in Ferguson last week that wounded two police officers and rekindled tension in the racially troubled Missouri city.

Jeffrey Williams, 20, is charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and shooting a firearm from a motor vehicle causing injury, St Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch told reporters yesterday after an intense four-day manhunt.

“It’s possible at this point that he was firing shots at someone other than the police, but struck the police officers,” McCulloch said, adding that Williams had acknowledged firing gunshots and that the investigation was ongoing.

Ferguson, a suburb of 21,000, that is two-thirds black, has been in the global spotlight since a white policeman fatally shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August. This led to sometimes violent protests in major American cities and prompted an impassioned debate about policing and race relations.

McCulloch said Williams had participated in some of the demonstrations demanding justice for Brown’s killing - a claim disputed by protest organisers.

After news filtered through of Williams’ arrest, about 100 people gathered outside the police station in support of the police and Ferguson Mayor James Knowles, who is under growing pressure to resign.

In Washington, Attorney General Eric Holder welcomed news of Williams’ arrest, saying it sent “a clear message that acts of violence against our law enforcement personnel will never be tolerated.”