Police Wound Armed Man During Chase : Shooting: The unidentified suspect is the first to be shot by a Santa Ana officer this year.

In the city’s first shooting by a police officer this year, a man was wounded Monday after he allegedly pulled a pistol from his waistband while being chased by two officers, authorities said.

The unidentified man was undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound to the abdomen at UCI Medical Center in Orange after the 2:45 p.m. shooting, police spokeswoman Maureen Haacker said. His condition was not immediately available, but officers at the scene said he is expected to survive.

The incident began about 2 p.m. when two officers were dispatched to investigate a resident’s report of a man with a gun in the 900 block of West Highland Street. The officers soon spotted the suspect, but he ran off after seeing their patrol car, Haacker said.

“They were unable to contact him because he fled on foot behind some apartments,” she said.

About 45 minutes later, the officers drove through the area again. At an apartment complex at 908 S. Shelton St. the officers “definitely recognized the suspect (who was) standing on a driveway,” Haacker said, adding that the suspect apparently had changed his shirt to avoid detection.

As the officers drove up the driveway, the suspect fled again and the officers got out of the patrol car and gave chase, she said.

“During the foot pursuit, the officers ordered him to stop, which he refused to do,” Haacker said. “One of the officers was able to catch (up) to the suspect and grabbed his shirt.”

The shirt was apparently torn off in the struggle, revealing a chrome pistol tucked in his waistband, she said.

The suspect then turned to face the officers and allegedly grabbed for the weapon, Haacker said. “The officers, fearing for their safety, both fired,” hitting the suspect at least once in the abdomen, she said.

Despite his wound, the suspect tossed his gun onto the driveway and continued running down the street, Haacker said. He collapsed a short distance away at 930 S. Shelton.

Haacker said she did not know how many times the suspect was struck or how many rounds the officers fired. She also said it was not clear whether the suspect had fired his weapon, which was later recovered at the scene.

Neither officer was injured. Haacker declined to release the names of the two officers involved, citing department policy. She said that the officers will remain on regular duty pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting by the department.

A witness who lives across the street from the scene said he heard two shots and saw the suspect with bloodstains on his shirt.

“This stuff happens all the time--not so much the shootings, but there are lots of drug deals,” the witness said. “People pull up in their cars to buy drugs, so kids can’t play in the streets.”

The Orange County district attorney’s office has also started its own investigation into the incident, which is standard procedure for all shootings in the county involving police officers.

Times staff writer Katia Hetter contributed to this report.