By Joanna Putman
Police1
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A police officer was shot while intervening in an attempted armed robbery, AZ Central reported.
The Mar. 29 incident occurred when several armed suspects attempted to rob a vehicle, according to the report. A uniformed Phoenix Police Department officer who was working off-duty at a business in the area was contacted about the robbery and approached the suspects.
At least one of the suspected robbers then began firing in the direction of the officer. The officer was unable to return fire and was shot several times, according to the report. Statements issued by the department called the incident a “violent, ambush-style attack.”
“We had an officer who was violently attacked while truly doing his job — and not just attacked, but ambushed,” interim Phoenix police Chief Michael Sullivan said at a news conference. “He was ambushed as he went to try to help folks that were being preyed upon and robbed and put himself in harm’s way.”
The officer has since been released from the hospital, according to the department. The suspects are still at large.