It seems Internet vigilantism didn't die after Reddit's Boston bombing-obsessed users pointed its fingers at an innocent student who was later discovered dead. This time it's the hacktivist group Anonymous publically pointing the finger at a person who may or may not have been the police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri.

Tensions are already at an all-time high in the St. Louis-area city, where protesters and police have clashed night after night, following the shooting of the unarmed 18-year old Brown on Aug. 9. Ferguson authorities have been pressured to release the name of the officer who shot and killed Brown but have refused to divulge the officer's name, citing possible retribution from the community or vigilantes.

That hasn't stopped Anonymous from releasing the name of a man it believes is the officer in question. According to CNN, Anonymous hacked the police department's computers and obtained audio files from police dispatches, as part of the group's ongoing "Operation Ferguson" campaign. After issuing an ultimatum to the Ferguson police to release the name of the shooter or they would, on Thursday morning, Anonymous tweeted the name, a photograph, and details of a conversation he had on Facebook. Latin Post will not publish the alleged shooter's name unless and until officials confirm it.

And officials have done anything but confirm the identity of the man Anonymous identified as the shooter. In fact, the St. Louis County PD on Twitter responded to Anonymous' tweet, saying the man identified "is not even an officer with Ferguson or St. Louis County PD. Do not release more info on this random citizen."

Twitter seems to agree that Anonymous is putting a random citizen's life in harm's way, as it suspended the Anonymous account without comment early Thursday afternoon, pointing to its basic usage rules as justification. Anonymous had threatened to release more information on the man, including details about his home, but the group's backup Twitter account announced they were "ceasing any future dox releases" -- or public releases of personal information -- until further notice.

Releasing the supposed identity of the shooter is only the latest act of digital vigilantism by Anonymous as upheaval continues to rock Ferguson, MO. The same now-suspended Anonymous Twitter account previously released photos of St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar's house, his home address, telephone number, and an increasingly creepy series of photos and disturbing messages. One tweet had a picture of Belmar with his wife ("Nice photo, Jon. Your wife actually looks good for her age. Have you had enough?), another with a picture of someone sleeping on a couch supposedly from inside Belmar's house ("He sees you when you sleep, he knows when you're awake."), and another picture of Belmar's wife and daughter, according to the Washington Post. Later, this Anonymous threatened to "dox" Belmar's daughter if he didn't release the name of Brown's shooter, but then backed down.

Another Anonymous associate -- who claims to be "independent" of the Anonymous member whose Twitter account was suspended on Thursday -- set up a website and social media to organize "Operation Ferguson."

That Anonymous outlet released a video and press release partly addressing Ferguson police, saying:

"To the Ferguson Police Department and any other jurisdictions who are deployed to the protests: we are watching you very closely. If you abuse, harass - or harm in any way the protesters in Ferguson we will take every web based asset of your departments and governments off line. That is not a threat, it is a promise. If you attack the protesters, we will attack every server and computer you have. We will dox and release the personal information on every single member of the Ferguson Police Department, as well as any other jurisdiction that participates in the abuse. We will seize all your databases and E-Mail spools and dump them on the Internet. This is your only warning."


That particular Anonymous faction later took credit after the Internet crashed at the Ferguson City Hall and the city's site was flooded with traffic -- likely from a distributed denial of service attack, an Anonymous trademark cyber attack.

Meanwhile on Thursday, President Barack Obama called for peace in Ferguson, saying, "There is never excuse for violence against the police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting. There is also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights."

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