Police in Maryland launched a manhunt Friday for a gunman who shot and critically wounded a veteran police officer near an all-night Annapolis convenience store.
The Anne Arundel County officer was on routine patrol when he pulled up to a 7-Eleven on East College Parkway around 2:20 a.m. Friday, police said.
Inside the store, the cop was told that a man standing outside was acting suspiciously.
The Fox affiliate in Baltimore said that when the officer went to investigate, a struggle ensued and the man took off, pursued by the officer.
During the pursuit, the officer was struck in the upper body by a single gunshot. The station said the bullet did not strike the officer in his vest.
Another cop found the wounded officer and called for assistance, police said.
The injured officer was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore where doctors performed surgery, the Baltimore Sun reported.
“Every officer knows the risks involved with police work, their families know the risks,” police union president O’Brien Atkinson told the paper.
The Capital Gazette in Annapolis said officers and members of the K9 unit searched for the man, who fled the area on foot.
The paper said that police believe the man had a gun and that the officer was not shot with his own weapon.
A police spokesman told reporters the suspect was considered armed and dangerous. He released a physical description of the suspect. He said the gunman was wearing a black hoodie and dark pants.
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