Orlando police officer escapes injury after getting caught in shootout

An Orlando police officer was shot at Wednesday afternoon when he happened to drive up on a shootout.

At 3:09 p.m. Wednesday, an Orlando police sergeant was on patrol when he came upon a shootout in the 800 block of West Jackson Street, according to the police department. As the sergeant approached the two vehicles involved, one of the vehicles, a small black SUV, began to drive off as gunfire was still being exchanged.

The sergeant’s police-issued SUV was struck by one of the bullets, hitting the rear window on the driver’s side. The police sergeant, who was not struck, radioed for backup.

Police tracked the black SUV involved to the area of Kirkman Road and West Robinson Street, where it had crashed into another vehicle, not involved in the shooting. The suspects in the black SUV had taken off on foot but were apprehended by police.

One of the three suspects had a gunshot wound and was taken to a local hospital. The other two are currently being detained, according to Orlando police.

The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash also had to be taken to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

There were no other injuries reported, and officers never engaged in the gunfire, according to the department.

The Orlando Police Department was only releasing information via their Twitter feed, with a news conference to be held later. No time has been given for that news conference.

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Orlando police officer escapes injury after getting caught in shootout."