An Alexandria motorcycle officer was shot in the head and was fighting for his life in a Washington hospital Wednesday evening.
Alexandria police said 17-year veteran officer Peter Laboy was injured several times including a gunshot wound to his head, which is his most severe injury. He endured a multi-hour surgery and was now recuperating in the ICU at Medstar Washington Hospital Center, Chief Earl Cook said during an evening news conference outside the hospital.
Laboy remains in critical condition.
Cook called the shooting a "horrific event."
"This is an exceptionally shocking day for Alexandria and its police department," Cook said. "I really cannot speculate on the prognosis ... I do know he's in critical condition. And our prayers and the care here, we're hoping, will help save his life."
Police have arrested Kashif Bashir, 27, of Woodbridge, the driver of a yellow cab that fled police after Laboy was shot. Bashir faces charges of malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Investigators have not determined a motive for the shooting. Police recovered a firearm at the scene in Old Town Alexandria but investigators don't know yet whether it was the gun used in the shooting.
Police haven't yet pieced together what happened when Laboy approached Bashir and want to speak with witnesses who may have seen the shooting, Cook said.
"It will take days, if not weeks, for us to completely put together what has happened in this incident," Cook said.
Police said several bystanders called to report the shooting and that Laboy did not communicate that he had been shot. He did not return fire, police said.
Other officers arrived soon after and spotted a yellow cab that was tied to the reported shooting, which led to the chase into Fairfax County.
"Peter is kind of a cop's cop," Cook told reporters. "He loved the job, he worked diligently."
UPDATE: Wednesday - 2/27/2013, 5:55pm ET -
ALEXANDRIA , Va. - An Alexandria cop who was critically wounded in a midday shooting was wearing a bullet resistant vest at the time and has been a police officer for 17 years.
The 45-year-old officer was still in surgery late Wednesday afternoon. He was shot around noon in Old Town Alexandria.
Investigators have not released the officer's name. He has been a motorcycle officer for six years.
Police continue to question the driver of the yellow cab that fled the shooting scene. The driver was the only person in the cab, police say.
Police have scheduled a 7 p.m. press conference to discuss the shooting investigation.
EARLIER: Wednesday - 2/27/2013, 5:35pm ET -
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - An Alexandria motorcycle officer is in critical condition after he was shot by someone in a yellow taxi in Old Town Wednesday afternoon.
Alexandria police say the officer, whose name has not been released, stopped the taxi for a minor offense near Washington and Wilkes streets just before noon. But the encounter quickly turned violent and the officer was shot in the upper body.
The yellow cab then led other police officers on a chase that ended in Fairfax County when the cab hit a white Mercedes Benz at Fort Hunt Road and Belle View Boulevard, police say.
The Mercedes was traveling in the opposite direction on a steep curve. Neither the cab driver nor the driver of the Mercedes was seriously injured, police say.
Police arrested the taxi driver. His name was not released and it is unclear what charges he may face or if he was the shooter.
The officer was flown to Medstar Washington Hospital Center with life-threatening injuries, police say
