The two Santa Cruz police officers and the male suspect injured during a violent shootout Tuesday afternoon have died, according to authorities.

The incident began with a police investigation that brought officers to a home on North Branciforte Avenue at around 3:30 p.m. A shooting ensued as suspects engaged the police with an exchange of gunfire.

The suspects left the home and continued the shootout with a second exchange of gunfire on nearby Doyle Street.

During a press briefing at 6:20 p.m., Santa Cruz County Sheriff Phil Wowak announced that the suspect and the two officers in the shooting had died. He offered no further details, but confirmed that Santa Cruz Sheriff's Department had taken over patrols for the police department.

Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel spoke briefly, stating that the department was in mourning after the officers died and calling it "a horrific day in my career as the police chief."

"We lost two exceptionally fine officers today. My primary concern at this point is for the safety and the well being of my officers, as well as the families of the deceased officers," said Vogel.

Authorities were conducting a house-by-house search, but said that there were no outstanding suspects involved in the investigation.

The names and ages of the officers and the suspect have not been released.

Residents on the streets adjoining where the two shootings occurred received an automatic police call at about 3:30 p.m. warning them to stay locked inside.

About half an hour later, more than a dozen semi-automatic shots echoed down the streets in a brief shootout that killed the suspect.

Three hours later, police were going door to door in the neighborhood searching homes, garages, even closets, although the sheriff said authorities didn't know if another suspect remained at large.

Police, sheriff's deputies and FBI agents filled intersections, some with guns drawn, in what is ordinarily a quiet, residential neighborhood.

A store clerk a few buildings away from the shooting said the barrage of gunfire was "terrifying."

"We ducked. We have big desks so under the desks we went," said the clerk, who spoke on condition of anonymity and asked that her store not be identified because a suspect might still be at large and she feared for her safety.

She said she was still locked in her store a few hours after the shooting and was still scared.

Several schools in the area were locked down, and while streets nearby remained closed, the students were being transported to the county building at 701 Ocean St. where they were being reunited with their families.

Shortly before 7 p.m., a school bus had arrived to transport the children there.

At the time of that shooting, some elementary school students were playing outside across the street from where officers were investigating, waiting for their parents to pick them up, a parent said.

They were quickly pulled back indoors after the gunfire broke out, said Mike Stout, a parent of two girls, ages 6 and 9, at one of the schools.

"I just feel nervous, why are they taking so long?" Stout said. "What we're curious about is that they came here at 3:30 for an investigation" just as school was letting out.

As darkness fell, helicopters and light aircraft patrolled above the neighborhood, which is about one mile from downtown Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

The university of California, Santa Cruz campus is in hills about five miles away from the shooting scenes.

Santa Cruz has faced a recent spate of violence, and a rally had been scheduled for Tuesday for community leaders to speak out against shootings. But after Tuesday's gunfire, both a regularly scheduled City Council meeting and the downtown rally were canceled after teary-eyed city leaders learned of the deaths.

The surprising attacks include the killing of Pauly Silva, a 32-year-old martial arts instructor who was shot outside a popular bar and restaurant in downtown Santa Cruz on Feb. 9.

Two days later, a UC Santa Cruz student waiting at a bus stop was shot in the head during a robbery. She is recovering from her injuries.

Then on Feb. 17, a 21-year-old woman was raped and beaten on the UC Santa Cruz campus. Four days later, a Santa Cruz couple fought off two men who came in their home before dawn and threatened them with a sword.