ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis City police officer was taken to the hospital after he was involved in a crash overnight downtown while responding to a shooting call.

Washington Avenue and Broadway are where the officer-involved crash happened. The scene there cleared just a short time ago. The call that the officer was responding to was just a block or two from the scene.

All of this took place around 3:15 a.m. Police said that there was a single police officer in the unit when it was involved in a crash with a minivan. There was significant damage to both vehicles. The good news is that it appears that both the officer and the other driver are going to be okay.

That call originally went out as a shooting. Police shared that it turns out that a security guard for a nearby Hampton Inn confronted suspects breaking into vehicles on a lot outside the hotel.

Officers told FOX 2 that at least one of the suspects fired shots into the security guard’s car. He reportedly did not take a bullet hit, but glass shards injured his arm. He was taken to a nearby hospital while the suspects sped off.

Here is what a St. Louis police officer said about the officer and the other driver involved in the crash:

“There were two vehicles involved, Officer Matthew Karnawksi explained. “Both the officer and the driver were injured and taken to local hospitals for evaluation and at this point, we do not believe their injuries to be critical.” 

FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it becomes available.