Colorado Springs, CO – A Colorado Springs police officer was critically wounded when he was shot while responding to a call for shots fired in the area early on Thursday morning.

KDVR reported that the incident occurred at about 2:45 a.m. on East Boulder Street on the east side of the city when officers responded to multiple reports of shots being fired near Bonfoy Avenue and Boulder Street.

Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey said that when officers arrived on the scene, there was a gunfight.

Officer Cem Duzel, a five-year veteran of the Colorado Springs Police Department assigned as a patrolman to the Sand Creek division, was seriously wounded in the gun battle, KDVR reported.

KRDO reported that an officer was heard on the radio telling dispatch that there was an “officer down” and that an officer “got a gunshot wound to the head.”

Officer Duzel was transported to Memorial Hospital and taken into surgery almost immediately. The extent of his injuries was not yet known.

The officer is well-known to the public for having rescued a bear cub with his head stuck inside a plastic protein powder bottle in 2015, KRDO reported.

The suspect was also shot during the exchange of gunfire. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries and has also been transported to Memorial Hospital, according to KDVR.

Police have not yet released the identity of the suspect.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency investigating the officer-involved shooting. They have asked news agencies and citizens with drones to stop flying over the crime scene because it was hindering their investigation.

This is a developing story and we will keep you updated. For all of our updates, follow us on Facebook and go to your news feed preferences under your settings, then select that you want to see more of Blue Lives Matter posts in your news feed. Otherwise, Facebook may not show you updates.