FARGO, N.D. -- A police officer who was shot during a standoff with a domestic violence suspect is not expected to survive and his family is with him saying goodbye, authorities in Fargo, North Dakota, said Thursday.
Police Chief David Todd said the suspect, who remained barricaded inside the property in Fargo before dawn Thursday, may also have been shot in an exchange of gunfire with a SWAT officer, but authorities are not sure of his status.
Officer Jason Moszer, 33, who responded to a report of domestic violence at the home Wednesday evening, was struck by the suspect's gunfire, Fargo Deputy Police Chief Joe Anderson said.
A SWAT team in an armoured vehicle retrieved the injured officer and took him to a medical facility, where his family was with him.
"They are in the process of saying goodbye to him," Todd said early Thursday.
The suspect might also have suffered a gunshot wound in an exchange of gunfire with a SWAT officer, Todd said.
Anderson said authorities tried to communicate with the suspect through negotiators, but that he has not responded. Authorities are not entirely sure of his identity, Anderson said.
The incident began in one of Fargo's older residential neighbourhoods near downtown around 7 p.m. after the man's son called dispatchers and said the suspect had fired a gun at his mother, the suspect's wife. The caller and his mother were able to escape the home unharmed, Anderson said.
As law enforcement arrived, a standoff ensued, with the suspect firing multiple rounds from inside the property, Anderson said.
The suspect then called dispatchers and told them to evacuate nearby houses because he planned to open fire. Police conducted door-to-door checks on neighbours and don't believe anyone else is injured, Anderson said.
