Authorities say a suspect in custody hours after a police officer in Omaha was in critical condition after a shooting at a JCPenney store in a mall in Nebraska’s largest city.
Police in Omaha told Fox News on Friday night that the wounded officer was vigilant and would undergo surgery.
Two officers responded to an incident, and one was shot, police said earlier. The suspect was only described as a black man.
He was arrested after a swift chase, said Lieutenant Sherie Thomas, Omaha police.
The department separately announced on Twitter that the injured officer is stable and that the Nebraska State Patrol has arrested a suspect.
Police said they are investigating Highway 6 east of Lincoln, the state capital. The two cities are about 60 kilometers apart.
The initial shooting took place around 4pm local time in the Westroads Mall.
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In a video posted online by KETV in Omaha, Omaha police chief Todd Schamderer told reporters at the scene the officer was taken to a hospital in a critical condition and the suspect was released.
“We have had an Omaha police officer respond to a shoplifting call,” he said. “When the officers got in there, a kind of fight broke out and shots were fired.”
He said he did not immediately know how many bullets were involved, but that the officer was beaten and rushed to hospital.
Details were scarce at the time, as police said they were confirming information before releasing it to the public.
The video of the mall, which was shared on social media, showed a large presence with the police on Friday afternoon, with officers rolling yellow tape around a section of the mall.
“Prayers for blue,” the Omaha police station tweeted shortly after reports of the shooting appeared.
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Omaha police said they plan to release more details later that evening or Saturday.