2 Arrested In Shooting That Wounded Merced Officer

MERCED, Calif. (AP) - Police have arrested two men suspected of shooting and wounding a police officer during a traffic stop in Central California.

KFSN-TV reports the men were taken into custody Saturday following a search in a Merced neighborhood.

The city's mayor, Stan Thurston, told the station the officer was shot in the vest and hand by the passenger of a car he had pulled over.

Police said other officers who responded to the scene of the shooting returned fire, hitting one of the suspects.

The men sped away and the car was found abandoned in an alleyway about a block away.

One suspect was found hiding in a backyard. He suffered from multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The second suspect was found hiding inside a home.