A shootout at a checkpoint at Mile 4 ½ on the Western Highway has resulted in an off-duty police officer being shot. He is hospitalized at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.
The incident occurred Friday morning, September 14, sometime around 2:30 a.m., said police.
The officer’s identity and particulars were not disclosed by police.
Police said that at the checkpoint, a two-door gold color car approached them. Upon reaching the checkpoint, police saw two men inside. A man in the car’s rear seat fired several shots, one of which grazed an officer’s abdomen.
The police returned fire with his 9mm pistol, but the car sped off towards the direction of Hattieville.
As a result of the shooting, a private vehicle, owned by another officer, parked near the booth, suffered bullet damage to the rear passenger door, said police, and there were also bullet holes in the police booth.
At the scene, seven expended 9mm shells were retrieved, said police.