Photos released in manhunt for 2 men wanted in ambush attack on New Jersey police
The officers are expected to survive.
Officials searching for two men wanted in an ambush attack on New Jersey police officers have released images of men they are calling persons of interest in the case.
The two men pictured may have information concerning the shooting, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release Wednesday night.
Members of the public should not approach these individuals, the release stated.
Members of federal and local law enforcement agencies across different states have teamed up to hunt for the two men after the officers were ambushed and shot on Tuesday.
The two officers were wearing plain clothes and sitting at a red light in Camden when one man approached them, Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson said.
The suspect then fired 10 to 25 shots into the vehicle, police said.
The unidentified male then fled in a white van with bullet holes on the driver's side, police said.
"The officers were ambushed," Dan Keashen, a spokesperson for the Camden County Police Department, told ABC News. "They were not engaged in an operation at the time and it was completely unprovoked."
Keashen said the two officers were transported to a hospital by a fellow officer, and were taken into the trauma unit immediately. They are now in stable condition and police are hopeful they will be released from hospital soon.
One officer, a man, was shot twice in the arm, while the other, a woman, was hit in the hand, according to ABC affiliate WPVI.
Among the agencies that have joined in the investigation into the shooting are the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) task force and regional agencies, including the New Jersey State Police and the Philadelphia police.
Police said one of the officers was able to return fire, but it was unclear if the suspect was hit.
Police stations across the country were celebrating National Night Out on Tuesday, a night intended to bring officers closer to the community through meet and greets and neighborhood activities.
Camden has struggled economically for years, and has a high crime rate as well. In 2012, the city had the highest rate of violent crime in the country, according to FBI data. However, the city has seen strides in recent years. After 67 murders in 2012, there were just 23 in 2017, its lowest number since 1988, according to NJ.com.