Three officers with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, were wounded in a shooting Wednesday morning while attempting to serve an arrest warrant for animal cruelty, Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said.

The incident began when officers with the criminal apprehension unit responded to a home in the 5000 block of Hanna Place SE, in the southeast part of the city, to serve an arrest warrant at about 7:30 a.m. ET, the chief said. An individual inside the home refused to come outside, and when officers tried to enter the home, the person fired at them, Smith said.

The three officers were shot and taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries, she said. A fourth officer also suffered a minor injury, she added.

The suspect remains barricaded inside the home and has continued to fire from the location, Smith said.

There are nearly a dozen pitbulls inside the home, according to a source.

The incident remains an active situation as officers attempt to communicate with the man who remains barricaded inside of a home in Southeast DC, according to police.

Police have blocked off several neighboring streets and warned the public to stay “far away from the scene.”

The shooting comes as Washington, DC, has seen a sharp rise in violent crime over the past year, even as many other US cities experienced a decline. From 2022 to 2023, DC saw a 35% increase in homicides, a 67% increase in robberies and an 82% increase in motor vehicle thefts, according to police data.

“I won’t say DC crime is out of control,” Smith said in her news conference Wednesday. “I think we have a group of individuals who do not respect law enforcement and authority. Our officers, again, were where they were supposed to be, doing exactly what they need to do, and we will continue to do that.”