Man shot by officer after collision with Seattle police cruiser

One man was reportedly shot by police after a car that he and two others were riding in collided with a Seattle police cruiser, injuring an officer.

One of the suspects suffered what police described as a minor hand injury, which a Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman said was a bullet wound. Police said at least one officer fired gunshots during the incident.

The injured officer was treated at the scene, but isn't expected to require hospitalization, police spokesman Jeff Kappel said at the scene.

"This is extremely preliminary," he said while briefing news media at the scene.

The incident started around 5:15 p.m. when two officers responded to 20th Avenue South and South Jackson Street to investigate a "suspicious" vehicle. It's unclear why police responded, but the car containing the three suspects was parked in a lot in front of the Seven Stars Mini-Mart, police said.

As the officers approached the vehicle, it sped off westbound on South Jackson Street. The car collided head-on with a police cruiser about a block away, injuring one of two officers inside.

The three men were taken into custody after the collision, including the one who was injured and taken by an aid car to Harborview Medical Center.

Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick said department medics were called to the scene for a man with a gunshot wound to his hand. Department medics did not transport him, however, she said.

Kappel said a weapon was recovered at the scene. Police did not immediately disclose why the suspect vehicle was considered suspicious.

The shooting comes less than a week after Seattle police shot and wounded a bank robbery suspect after he drove a stolen pickup into a police cruiser. That shooting happened Wednesday evening near Greenwood Avenue North, Holman Road and North 105th Street

Seattle Times staff reporters Charles E. Brown and Phillip Lucas contributed to this report