This is the terrifying moment a brave police officer is shot while he searches a suspect before returning fire and fatally wounding him.

The incident took place in Oklahoma City, which is the capital of the state of Oklahoma, in the south-central United States, on 2nd March, with the police releasing the information yesterday (Wednesday, 16th March).

The body-cam footage shows Oklahoma City Police Department (OKCPD) officer Bryce Sheehan getting out of his vehicle and walking up to a man wearing red clothes.

The suspect, whom police named as 23-year-old Crasteven Kennon Wilson, begins to walk away, but officer Sheehan asks him to wait.

The police officer asks Wilson if he is carrying any weapons and the man shakes his head. The officer begins to pat him down while standing behind him.

But suddenly, the man appears to fire a weapon at the police officer. The police later said that officer Sheehan was injured in the face by a gunpowder burn from the firearm discharging.

In the footage, the officer immediately shouts out in apparent pain and puts some distance between the suspect and himself.

The suspect can then be heard opening fire multiple times on the police officer, apparently hitting and wounding him.

The brave cop, taking shelter behind a white car, then returns fire on Wilson, apparently hitting him.

The police officer then tells his colleagues over the radio “Shots fired!” and says that he has been hit.

Wilson then appears to fall to the ground as a result of being hit by the police officer. The suspect then runs towards the police officer’s vehicle while the officer empties his clip at the suspect, firing at him repeatedly.

The police officer then repeats to his colleagues over the radio that he has been hit. He can then be seen loading a fresh magazine of bullets into his service firearm.

Officer Sheehan can then be heard informing his colleagues that Wilson is running from the scene as his car, which appears to have had the handbrake released, rolls slowly towards him.

The officer then applies a tourniquet to his right leg. He can be seen bleeding while he shouts to someone to put the brakes on his police car.

He then asks local residents who approach to see if he is okay if he has been hit in the face. The residents say that he has not. The footage then switches to police drone images showing the injured suspect lying on the ground and apparently bleeding profusely.

A police officer then narrates the following part of the video, in which the suspect can be seen being tended to by paramedics. The narrating police officer says that her injured colleague was also treated and placed on “routine administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation”.

While she is saying this, images show the injured police officer getting into the passenger side of a second police car driven by one of his colleagues.

The narrating police officer says that the suspect had been seen by locals brandishing a firearm while walking through the neighbourhood.

The narrating police officer also indicates, as the footage ends, that the investigation is in its early stages and would take some time to complete.

In its statement, which was obtained by Newsflash, the OKCPD states that officer Sheehan has been on the force for three years and that he had been dispatched to the area after reports police received reports of a “disturbance/suspicious person”.

The police statement said: “As Officer Sheehan approached him and attempted to perform a pat search, the suspect immediately drew a pistol and opened fire on Officer Sheehan at close range, striking the officer in the leg. As Officer Sheehan was returning fire, the suspect ran to the officer’s car and attempted to steal it, but then fled on foot.

“A police drone spotted the suspect hiding outside of a nearby residence. Officers quickly took him into custody and began rendering aid after discovering he had been shot. The suspect later died at an area hospital. Currently, we are still trying to verify the suspect’s identity.

“Officer Sheehan was treated and released from OU Medical Center. He has been placed on routine administrative leave.”

The investigation into the officer-involved shooting is ongoing.