Five police officers were shot and two suspects killed in an early-morning shootout Thursday in Jersey City, N.J., according to Police Chief Thomas J. Comey.
The primary suspect was carrying an automatic weapon, said Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.
The shootout happened about 5 a.m. after officers approached two people heading for a car connected to an armed robbery, Comey said. Police were conducting a criminal investigation involving the pair.
"These individuals were being sought by our department for a major crime," he told reporters Thursday. "This individual (and his accomplice) came ready to go to war with us."
He says the two suspects fired into the police car and then ran into an apartment, where they barricaded themselves and then began shooting at the officers. Shotgun blasts shattered the door and wall.
Two of the officers were in critical condition and had undergone surgery but were expected to survive. One was shot in the face, went into cardiac arrest and almost lost his life, and another suffered gun wounds to the chest and neck, Healy said. The others' injuries weren't life-threatening.
"It was a terrible gunfight," said the mayor.
Three more who weren't shot also were hurt in the gunbattle. The wounded officers were taken to Jersey City Medical Center.
The suspects' and officers' names have not been released.
The area of the shooting is known for heavy drug activity, FOX 5 reported.
A car that may have been involved in the shootout was loaded onto a flatbed tow truck about 9 a.m. Thursday.
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