Police in La Vergne, Tennessee, were searching for a suspect Saturday afternoon, after two officers were shot outside a Dollar General while investigating a stolen vehicle, La Vergne Police Chief Chris Moews said in a press conference.
"During that investigation they had contact with a subject. They struggled with that subject and that suspect produced a handgun and fired shots," Moews said.
He said that one of the officers, a nearly three-year veteran with the force, suffered a gunshot wound to his rear left shoulder, and the other officer, who has been with the department a year-and-a-half, was shot in the right groin and right forearm. Both are listed in stable condition.
LOS ANGELES POLICE OFFICER SHOT, KILLED IN SUSPECTED ‘AMBUSH ATTACK’
Police are searching for the suspect, identified as John C. Drake. (La Vergne Police Department)
The suspect has been identified as John C. Drake, 38.
Moews described him as a Black man, 5 foot 11 inches tall, with a muscular build, facial hair and dreadlocks. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a white hockey mask emblem on the front with red lettering and gray pants.
He was last seen heading northbound on Stones River Road.
A shelter in place in order remained for the area as of 5:30 p.m. local time. "Avoid the area and report anything suspicious," police said in a Facebook update.