Apache County, Arizona — An Apache Junction officer who was shot in the line of duty after a shootout with a suspect is still in the hospital.

Officer Brian Brugman is expected to be safe, but Apache Junction Police Chief Thomas Kelly said he likely has a long road to recovery.

Brugmann was shot in the neck and will undergo further surgery, Kelly said. Brugman is his four-year veteran of his AJPD and was recently promoted to motorcycle officer.

Kelly summed up Tuesday’s scene in one word: devastating.

“He’s called a gentle giant here,” Kelly says of Officer Burgmann.

Confusion spread on Tuesday afternoon when police discovered a suspected stolen vehicle.

Surveillance footage from across the street shows the moment when several police officers swarm the truck.

When officers approached, police say the truck crashed into the smoke shop after trying to run over them. Officers opened fire at that point, and police say one suspect fought back.

“My heart sank,” says M. Harris, an official in Layton, Utah. “My first thought was the location of his injury. I don’t understand how he is okay.”

Harris said he attended the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center with Brugman and immediately worried about his friend when he heard what had happened.

“It really broke my heart to hear that it was Brian,” she said on Zoom.

One of the suspects was also injured and taken to hospital. Another suspect was detained and later released.

The DPS took over a shooting investigation involving officers, but the name of the alleged shooter has not been released at this time. Apache Junction Police say at least one person has previous records.

According to Kelly, Brugman is the first Apache Junction officer to be shot while on duty since the 1990s.

Kelly adds that Brugman has been dealing with families at the hospital, and Brugman says he is following in his father’s footsteps. say.

Harris is working with Brugmann’s family to raise funds to help him heal. she says she can.