Chesco cop wounded in shooting

An alert has been issued for a man who fled with a woman in a late model, dark-colored Honda sedan after shooting a police officer on a rural Chester County road late last night.

The officer, a 12-year veteran of the Westtown-East Goshen regional police department, was shot in the hand. He was released this morning after being treated at the Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland Township.

Police Chief John M. Dumond said the officer stopped to investigate about 11:30 p.m. when he saw a man and woman standing outside of a car on East Strasburg Road, east of Dutton Mill Road, in East Goshen.

The man suddenly pulled what appeared to be a semiautomatic handgun and fired without warning, hitting the officer in the left hand, Dumond said.

The officer returned fire, but it was not known if he hit the gunman, police said. The man and his female companion then fled in their car.

Dumond said police believe the man and the woman were engaged in some sort of domestic dispute when the officer arrived and they are concerned about her safety.

Police the man is white, clean shaven, in his mid to late 20s, stocky, with short dark hair and about six feet tall. He was wearing blue jeans, a dark gray hoodie and a baseball cap. The woman, also white and in her 20s, has long brown hair and was wearing a ligh colored T-shirt.

Their car, possibly an Accord, may have had Delaware plates. Police were checking area hospitals to see if the man might have sought treatment for a gunshot wound.

Anyone with information should contact Chester County Police Radio at 610-692-5100.