PALM SPRINGS, Calif. _ Three Palm Springs police officers were shot Saturday, prompting a massive response from local law enforcement, authorities said.
Palm Springs police said the condition of the officers was unknown at this time, but one law enforcement source told the Los Angeles Times that one of the officers was in critical condition.
Officials said they were dealing with "an active scene" but provided no further details. Police said the active scene was unfolding near the corner of Racquet Club Road and Sunrise Way.
The law enforcement source said SWAT officers are on scene looking for suspects. Photos on social media show a huge police presence in the area from numerous jurisdictions.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the officer had responded to a burglary call in the area.
Reached by phone just before 3 p.m., a manager of a nearby hotel said a helicopter had been circling overhead for the past 1{ hours.
Alex Thomas, a manager at The Monkey Tree Hotel, which sits on Racquet Club Road, about half a mile east on the scene, estimated that about 10 squad cars had raced down the road, their sirens blaring, within the last hour.
She said she did not hear or see any shots fired, or know why police were swarming the scene.
But she described the areas as "real residential."
"There's a little school next to us," she said. "We're about the only business."
So, she added, having helicopter buzzing about was "highly unusual."
The shooting comes four days after a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sergeant was fatally shot during a burglary call in Lancaster. Authorities allege that the lawman was "executed" by the suspect, who was later captured.
