Three police officers were shot on Wednesday afternoon during an undercover investigation into fentanyl dealers in Kansas City, Kansas, according to officials.
All three officers suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Three or four suspects were also wounded and are in stable condition, Kansas City Kansas Police Chief Karl Oakman said.
An undercover team of officers had purchased fentanyl from the suspects a few days ago and were trying to make another purchase on Wednesday around 3:00 p.m.
"We responded today to try to buy additional fentanyl pills, at which time the deal didn't go through," Oakman told reporters in a briefing. "At that point, we were going to execute an arrest. During the execution of the arrest, individuals in the car got into a gun battle with the police officers."
SHOOTOUT IN LOS ANGELES TRADER JOE'S PARKING LOT AFTER DRUG DEAL GOES AWRY; 1 DEAD, 3 WOUNDED
The Kansas City metropolitan area, like other cities and rural areas across the U.S., has been dealing with a spike in fentanyl overdoses in recent years.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Kansas City Missouri Police Department put out a warning last fall after dozens of fentanyl overdoses occurred in a two-week span.
"It's causing a lot of overdoses but there's a lot of violence attached to it," Oakman said Wednesday, noting that every fentanyl search warrant they serve nets two to five guns.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.