Authorities in Houston, Texas, say four police officers were shot and another hurt as they attempted to serve a search warrant in a drug investigation on Monday.
Two suspects were killed in the shootout, police chief Art Acevedo said in a press briefing.
Two of the officers were shot in the neck and are undergoing surgery, Acevedo said. They were said to be in critical but stable condition.
The other two officers will remain hospitalized for another 24 hours, but their injuries aren’t as severe.
The shooting began after officers broke down the door of the house that they were attempting to search, and immediately came under fire from one or more suspects wielding semi-automatic pistols, Acevedo said.
Police attended the home over concerns that black tar heroin was being sold, authorities said.
A SWAT team later arrived at the scene and sent in two robots to capture footage from inside the home. The robots’ images showed two suspects who had been struck by gunfire from police.
They were both pronounced dead on the scene.
The narcotics investigation was prompted by a neighbour’s tip-off about the suspects selling black tar heroin out of their home, Acevedo said.