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Off-Duty Federal Officer Shot By Alleged Car Thieves

DETROIT (WWJ) - Officials say an off-duty Homeland Security officer was shot after he caught some would-be car thieves in the act.

It happened just before 6:30 a.m. Monday outside the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer's home, near Greenfield and Fenkell, on Detroit's west side.

Police said the officer, an eight-year veteran of the force, spotted the men pushing a 2012 Ford Explorer.  When he questioned them, they began shooting and the officer was injured.

Police said the officer fired back at the suspects, but it was unclear if any of them were hurt. They fled the scene following the incident.

The vehicle they'd targeted belongs to Norman Woodley.

"This homeland security person who lives next door in the neighborhood spotted them, and I guess they shot him in the arm," Woodley told WWJ Newsradio 950 at the scene. "He's, I guess, in the hospital recovering; thank God. And that's all we know."

The officer was listed in temporary serious condition.  His name has not been released.

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