Police chief: Officer shot, hospitalized in St. Louis suburb

BALLWIN, Mo. (AP) – Authorities say a police officer is hospitalized after being shot during a suburban St. Louis confrontation with a motorist.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar didn’t offer any immediate word about the medical status of the officer wounded during the shooting shortly after 11 a.m. Friday in Ballwin. But Belmar tells KMOV-TV the officer took “a hard hit.”

Belmar says a suspect is in custody, and a handgun has been recovered.

Details about what led to the officer’s initial interaction with the motorist weren’t disclosed. But Belmar says that after the shooting, the suspect sped away but abandoned that car and ran after it was spotted by a St. Louis County officer. The suspect was arrested after a short foot chase.

The wounded officer’s name wasn’t released.