2 Dallas officers shot and wounded while responding to call

Dallas police say two officers have been shot and wounded while responding to a shooting call in a residential neighborhood

Dallas Officer Shot (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Two Dallas police officers were shot and wounded Thursday while responding to a shooting call in a residential neighborhood, police said.

“Upon arrival, officers were immediately met with gunfire,” said police Chief Eddie Garcia. “Officers were struck, went down. As other officers arrived, they were extracted from the scene.”

Firefighters provided cover for officers as they extracted their wounded colleagues from the scene, Garcia said.

He spoke to reporters outside Baylor University Medical Center, where the officers were taken. Garcia said their injuries weren't life-threatening and that they were expected to recover. The department said in a statement that the officers were in stable condition.

The shooter has not been apprehended, Garcia said, but police believe the suspect is still in the area. The chief did not give details on what happened to prompt the call that brought the officers to the scene or describe the shooting suspect.

Later Thursday, police blocked traffic along a busy stretch of restaurants and bars, and SWAT officers wearing tactical gear walked streets lined with upscale apartments and condominiums. Many businesses in the area have been closed or operating on scaled-back schedules after subfreezing weather knocked out power, burst water pipes and dumped snow across much of Texas.

Less than a week earlier, another Dallas officer was fatally struck by a car while blocking traffic at a the site of a wreck. Officer Mitchell Penton was standing next to his patrol car with the emergency lights activated when a suspected intoxicated driver slammed into Penton’s vehicle, causing it to strike the officer.

The driver was arrested on warrants for intoxication manslaughter on a police officer and intoxication assault.