By Police1 Staff
PHOENIX — An Arizona Department of Public Safety officer was shot in in the face in central Phoenix early Wednesday morning, and five potential gunmen are at large.
The officer was taken to a hospital in critical condition and was preparing to go into surgery, according to a DPS spokesman.
Police are looking for five people in connection with the shooting, according to AZ Central, and believe they may be travelling in a 2008 blue Mercury Sable with Kansas license plate 887-GAM.
The DPS officer, who has not been identified, was conducting a traffic stop around 2 a.m. and was shot about ten minutes into the stop.
The officer was able to report on his radio that he had been shot, according to the report. Two other DPs officers arrived and opened fire on the vehicle, possibly striking the car and wounding occupants.
“Anyone that’s willing to take a shot at a police officer is going to be a dangerous person,” said Officer James Holmes, a Phoenix police spokesman said. “We are very concerned, especially in the immediate area.”