DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit police are on the hunt for three suspects Friday morning after an officer responding to an overnight call was shot in the leg on the city's east side.
Detroit Police Chief James White said in a news briefing that the shooting occurred at 12:15 a.m. while police responded to a ShotSpotter report of shots fired in the area of Morang and Whitehill.
"Upon arrival they were approached by a couple of citizens that identified an empty apartment building that was occupied by three people who shouldn't have been inside," White said.
The trio went to exit the building when officers began approaching, but one of them produced a weapon, White said, and open fired at police.
One of the officers was hit in the left calf and went down while at least two other officers returned fire.
White said it isn't known if the shooter was hit by any of the shots fired by police.
The injured officer was taken to Ascension St. John in Detroit where White addressed reporters around 2:15 a.m.
At this time, the officer's condition remains unknown.
White said the three suspects did manage to escape. The armed individual was described by the chief as a Black male standing between 5'8" - 5'9" and wore his hair in dreadlocks.
He was last seen running westbound from the vacant building.
White did mention that a scooter reportedly stopped in the area prior to officers' arrival, but detectives are still working to determine if it's connected to the case.
"We've discovered that it's a possible grow operation inside that building as well," White said of the investigation. Shell casings were still being collected from the scene and the case was "wide open" at the time White spoke with reporters.
"We are encountering violence like we haven't seen and it's just extreme violence, impulse decision making and they're constantly under threat," White stated. "But they show up and they do this work to keep this community safe and I couldn't be prouder of them."
"If you see something, say something," White reminded the public.
Anyone with any information about this incident has been asked to call the Detroit Police Department at 313-267-4600 or 911 in an emergency.
The case is currently under investigation with DPD's homicide task force.
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