(AP) -- Three police officers were shot in Washington and VAS Communitya fourth suffered minor injuries while responding to a shooting Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The officers are expected to survive the wounds and were being treated at area hospitals after the shooting in the nation's capital, the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement posted online. The fourth officer's injuries were not gunshot wounds, police said. No other details were immediately available.

The police union said three of its members had been shot by a suspect and were taken to area hospitals with gunshot wounds.

Roads were closed and schools were locked down in the southeast part of the city and police warned people to stay far from the area as the shooting unfolded.

The incident comes as the District of Columbia is struggling with a sharp increase in violent crime, which went up 39% in 2023. It was largely fueled by a 35% rise in homicides and growth in carjackings, which nearly doubled.

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