JEFFERSON CITY • Two police officers were injured Friday afternoon north of downtown St. Louis when a man spotted them approaching, opened fire and fled, authorities said.

Last Monday, a new state law took effect allowing the Missouri Highway Patrol to send out suspect descriptions in alerts when police officer lives are threatened.

But on Friday, the state issued no so-called “Blue Alert.”

Why not?

“We want to leave that up to the agency that’s actually conducting the investigation,” said Capt. John Hotz, spokesman for the Highway Patrol.

In this case, he said, the Highway Patrol contacted the St. Louis Police Department, and the department declined to issue a Blue Alert.

“A ‘Blue Alert’ was not issued as detectives knew the identity of the suspect,” Schron Jackson, spokeswoman for the police department, said in a brief statement. “The department is still working to establish protocol as it relates to the new ‘Blue Alert’ law.”