A police officer in Statesboro was shot and airlifted following an incident at Copper Beech.

BULLOCH COUNTY, Ga. () — A Statesboro Police officer was airlifted to the hospital after being shot in the line of duty Tuesday night.

According to police chief Mike Broadhead, the officer was responding to a report of car break-ins at Copper Beech. When he confronted the suspect Broadhead says the suspect started shooting at the officer. 

Broadhead says the officer was alone, but he called for backup. The suspect tried fleeing, but they were able to apprehend him nearby.

The officer was wounded in his leg and had fragment wounds in his shoulder. An officer was able to rush in to put a tourniquet on the wounded officer to control the bleeding. The suspect was also shot in the leg.

“Really all and all for a horrible situation, great work done by our officers, by the Georgia Southern University Police Department and by the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office.”

Broadhead says the officer was airlifted to Savannah for a trauma unit that could handle his injuries.

Broadhead says both the officer and the suspect are alert and in good condition. They’ve asked the GBI for help in the investigation, which is still ongoing.