Sacramento police officer shot, in serious condition

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP/KTVU) -- A Sacramento police officer was badly wounded Wednesday by a rifleman who also fired at officers trying to rescue her, according to reports.

At an evening news conference, a police spokesman said the officer was in serious condition and is at a local hospital. 

The officer was responding to a report of shots fired in a north Sacramento neighborhood when she was hit, KTXL-TV reported. 

Councilman Allen Warren, who represents the area, said the incident began as a domestic violence call.

Police said they were responding to some type of disturbance call between a male and a female before noon. 

"All I know right now that the officer is hurt bad, is at the hospital now and we're praying for her recovery and for her to make it through," Councilman Allen Warren, who represents the area, told the Sacramento Bee.

At a later news conference, police would not confirm that the officer is female. 

"Shortly after 3:30 p.m. we responded and made contact with the female at a separate location than our active incident right now," Sacramento P.D. Sgt. Vance Chandler said.    

Officers then went to the 200 block of Redwood, where they went to help the female gather some of her belongings at a residence. Multiple officers were on scene by 5:30 p.m., but just after 6 p.m., one of the officers was shot at this location. 

Officers trying to reach the wounded officer in a yard were at first pinned down as a man with a rifle shot from another home, KTXL-TV reported.

Heavily-armored police swarmed the residential neighborhood, where a couple dozen marked and unmarked police cars had gathered. 

An armored vehicle was brought to the scene, but it took more than 45 minutes to rescue the injured officer who was removed from the scene and transported just before 7 p.m.    

Chandler said nobody else was hurt and the woman who was being helped by the officer was not shot. 

Multiple law enforcement agencies remained at the scene late Wednesday night along with negotiators. Chandler said the gunman was still firing his rifle as recently as 40 minutes before their news conference update, which started at around 9 p.m. 

Because of the gunman, police warned residents by loudspeaker to stay out of the area near the intersection of Redwood Avenue and Edgewater Road. Police were keeping media and onlookers out of sight of the scene.  

KTVU's Andre Torrez contributed to this report.