Off-Duty Officer Shot in Gunfight With Two Bandits : Crime: The veteran Huntington Beach policeman is seriously wounded by shotgun blasts in a San Diego motel.

An off-duty Huntington Beach police officer was seriously wounded in an exchange of gunfire with robbers in a San Diego motel, authorities said Sunday.

Robert Barr, a 13-year Huntington Beach police officer, was hit by two shotgun blasts to an arm and leg during the Saturday night robbery and underwent “extensive reconstructive surgery” at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego.

Barr, 42, was listed in serious but stable condition Sunday in the hospital’s intensive care unit, San Diego police said.

Barr was on holiday with his girlfriend and two teen-age daughters when they drove up to the Hampton Inn on Kearney Mesa Boulevard shortly after 10:30 p.m. Saturday, police said. They stayed in the car while Barr went inside to register.

In the motel lobby, Barr was confronted by two hooded men in dark clothes, San Diego Police Lt. Tom Giaquinto said. At least one robber carried a shotgun and demanded Barr’s wallet.

When Barr told them he didn’t have it with him, one of the thieves fired two shotgun blasts, Giaquinto said. Witnesses told police that Barr was able to fire a single gunshot from a weapon he carried with him, but it was not known whether the bullet hit either man. Police did not identify Barr’s weapon.

“The two robbery suspects also robbed the hotel desk clerk, taking his wallet and money, as well as hotel funds from the cash register,” Giaquinto said. Then both men fled out the motel doors and were seen vaulting over a wall to the west of the motel, witnesses told investigators.

A tally of the stolen cash will not be made until today, Giaquinto said.

Police trauma experts were sent to San Diego to assist the wounded officer and his family, according to Huntington Beach Police Lt. Jeff Cope. He said Barr is a traffic accident reconstruction specialist who came to the department from a police agency in Los Angeles County.