Police Officer in Critical Condition After Being Shot; Chase Ends with Crash in Belle Haven

UPDATE 6:05 p.m.: The police officer undergoing surgery after being shot suffered one shot to the upper body and was wearing a bullet-proof vest, according to NBC4.

UPDATE 5:35 p.m. Traffic Update from Fairfax County Police: Fort Hunt Road remains closed from Belleview Boulevard to Quander Road. Officers on scene directing traffic. 

UPDATE 5 p.m. NBC4 reports the critically injured police officer from the Alexandria Police Department is a 45-year-old male, a 16-year veteran on the force who has spent six years as an officer with the motorcycle division.

The cab driver chased by police Wednesday rented a cab from Alexandria Yellow Cab in Alexandria, the TV station reports. The office is next door to the Alexandria Police Association.

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An Alexandria police officer was shot Wednesday in Old Town and is listed in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. Police chased a yellow cab into Fairfax County, where it crashed.

The driver of the cab was taken to the hospital in police custody.

Details on the shooting and crash are still sketchy, but Alexandria police said a department officer issued a lookout at 11:44 a.m. Wednesday for a yellow cab regarding a minor offense.

Almost immediately, a motorcycle officer spotted the suspect vehicle and initiated a traffic stop, according to a release from the department. Shortly after, the Department of Emergency Communications began receiving 911 calls of an officer down at South St. Asaph and Wilkes streets in Old Town.

The officer was taken to Medstar Washington Hospital Center with life-threatening injuries, according to police. NBC-4 reports the officer is in surgery.

At some point before or after the shooting, a patrol officer spotted the vehicle heading southbound on Washington Street and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the suspect vehicle sped off, according to Alexandria Police.

The suspect vehicle crashed into a white vehicle at Fort Hunt Road and Belle View Boulevard.

Both the driver of the cab and the white vehicle suffered non-life threatening injuries and were transported to a local hospital, Fairfax County Police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell told Patch. The driver of the cab was taken into police custody.

As of about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, Fort Hunt Road will remain closed between Belle View Boulevard and Wake Forest Drive for at least the next couple of hours for crash reconstruction and crime scene investigation, according to Fairfax County Police.

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