Elm City, NC – Police have arrested three suspects in connection with the shooting of a North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) trooper during a traffic stop on Monday.

NCSHP Trooper Daniel Harrell was shot in the face at approximately 5:15 p.m. on Jan. 15 after he pulled over a driver on Hanes Road, WNCN reported.

Details regarding what led up to the shooting have not been released, but Trooper Harrell’s patrol vehicle was found at the scene with extensive front-end damage and 12 bullet holes in the windshield.

He was rushed to the Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, where he remains hospitalized with serious, but non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Trooper Harrell is able to communicate, and has been listed in stable condition, WRAL reported.

Investigators immediately began searching for 36-year-old John David Jones, and later located the suspect vehicle just off of Cattail Road, on Ervin Place, WNCN reported.

Multiple law enforcement agencies banded together during the massive manhunt, both on the ground and in the air, WRAL reported.

Specialized tactical teams armed with rifles also responded to the scene.

At approximately 11:20 p.m., there were a series of loud blasts off of Cattail Road, according to WNCN.

Police apprehended Jones in the woods near Cattail Road just after midnight on Tuesday.

He was taken to the Wilson Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, police said.

Jones has since been charged with assault on a law enforcement officer, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, breaking or entering, assault on a female, and larceny after breaking and entering.

The gunman served time in prison for larceny by an employee and level three DWI, and was released in September of 2017, WITN reported.

He was scheduled to appear on charges of assault, larceny, and communicating threats later this month, and also has additional pending charges for possession of a firearm by a felon, selling methamphetamine, and various other drug-related offenses, WRAL reported.

His alleged accomplices, 25-year-old Bryan Mullins and 40-year-old William Boswell, were apprehended prior to Jones’ arrest, according to WNCN.

Mullins and Boswell have been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, and are being held on $15,000 bond.

Trooper Harrell joined the NCSHP in May of 2014, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Tom Cherry, and his father, Larry Harrell, The Wilson Times reported.

In 2016, he was named as the NCSHP Troop C, District 5 Officer of the Year.

“This needless assault provides another reminder of the perils law enforcement officers face each day,” NCSHP Commander Colonel Glenn McNeill told WTVD. “I would ask everyone to keep Trooper Harrell’s family and our entire organization in their thoughts and prayers.”