A San Diego police officer was fatally shot and another was wounded overnight during a traffic stop as a suspect was taken in custody, local police reported Friday (July 29).
"I'm extremely heartbroken to report that we had an officer shot and killed tonight. A second officer has been shot and is currently in surgery. We are hopeful that that officer will survive and make a full recovery," said San Diego Police Department Chief Shelley Zimmerman.
The officers, members of the department's gang suppression unit, were shot during a traffic stop at about 11 p.m. local time in Southcrest, a southeastern neighborhood of San Diego, the San Diego Union Tribune reported.
Zimmerman said the officers put out a call for "emergency cover" soon after they reported making the stop.
One resident said the emergency response units which came to the scene of the shooting, felt like a "military" operation.
"I have never experienced anything like this, where it feels like - it's almost like, the military just rolled up. The way the police swarmed the street - which - you know, I feel safe that the cops react that fast, but I feel a little uneasy," said San Diego, resident, Francisco Navallez.
The officers were taken to hospitals after the shooting. One of the officers was shot multiple times and died and the other was undergoing surgery early Friday.
"The officers are heroic, out there protecting our city day and night," said Zimmerman.
Police took a suspect into custody and searched for other possible suspect or suspects, according to the department's Twitter account.
The incident comes after eight officers were shot dead in ambushes in Dallas and Baton Rouge in July, putting police departments across the United States on high alert.
