Suspect shot in officer-involved shooting at Ventura County Government Center

VENTURA, Calif. (KABC) -- A police officer shot and wounded a man outside the Ventura County Government Center Monday morning, prompting a lengthy investigation.

The officer-involved shooting happened just after 10:30 a.m. in lot C of the center, authorities said.

A suspect was shot and transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition. A Ventura police sergeant was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities say the shooting happened after the police sergeant made a traffic stop on a vehicle suspected of being connected to an ongoing threats call.

There was an altercation between the sergeant and 37-year-old suspect when the officer-involved shooting occurred, Sgt. Marta Bugarin said.

Authorities did not provide details about the threats issue or why the suspect was in the parking lot of the government center near the courthouse. They did say the police sergeant managed to fire his weapon during the scuffle, wounding the man.

Detectives were not saying much about how the traffic stop escalated into the police sergeant firing his weapon.

Any witnesses with more information on the shooting is asked to call the sheriff's department at (805) 383-8704.