Hundreds of demonstrators held a peaceful rally in Olympia, Washington Thursday evening following the shooting of two unarmed black men by a white cop.

Officials say that Officer Ryan Donald shot and wounded two stepbrothers who were suspected of shoplifting beer from a supermarket around 1 a.m. on Thursday.

The brothers, who were identified 24-year-old Andre Thompson and 21-year-old Bryson Chaplin of Olympia, are expected to survive. They were both hospitalized, but Chaplin was reported to be in intensive care after his condition was upgraded from critical to serious, hospital officials said Friday, according to The Associated Press.

Officer Donald, a three-year veteran at the Olympia Police Department, told authorities the unarmed men attacked him with a skateboard, and that he had issued a verbal warning before opening fire. He was not harmed in the incident.

At a news conference, Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts said that one man was shot during a confrontation with Donald. Then the two suspects ran into the woods, but when they re-emerged, Donald fired multiple shots, Roberts said.

"There was some sort of confrontation there, and the officer felt threatened and discharged his firearm," Roberts said, reports Reuters.

Chief Roberts also insisted that "there's no indication to me that race was a factor in this case at all."

In response, protesters at the rally held signs that read "Race is a Factor" and "We Are Grieving." The demonstrators gathered at Woodruff Park, about a mile from the shooting scene, before marching to City Hall, The Olympian newspaper reported. A number of protesters waved signs reading "Black Lives Matter."

"It was terrible," the young men's mother, Crystal Chaplin, told KIRO-TV. "It's heartbreaking to see two of my babies in the hospital over something stupid."

The case has been turned over to outside investigators.

In the interim, Donald has been placed on administrative leave.