3 D.C. police officers shot and injured, suspect barricaded in house and still firing

Three police officers in Washington, D.C., were shot and injured Wednesday morning while attempting to execute an arrest warrant for cruelty to animals.

The suspect remains barricaded in a home in the 5000 block of Hanna Place Southeast near Benning Road.

"This remains an active situation and the individual has continued to fire from that location," Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said at a news briefing.

Smith said at a later briefing there are ongoing negotiations with the shooter, saying “sometimes he’s up, sometimes he’s down.” Officers have not made visual contact with him since this morning, but he communicates by phone, Smith said.

The three officers shot suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to local hospitals, police said. A fourth officer was hospitalized with minor injuries but was not shot.

All three officers will survive their injuries, according to DC police union chairman Greggory Pemberton, who spoke to NBC News as he was leaving Washington Hospital Center, having just visited the wounded police.

One officer was shot two times in the chest, Pemberton said, but his vest stopped both rounds.

The other two officers are facing serious, but not life threatening, gunshot wounds to their legs, Pemberton said.

There is going to be "some serious recovery time, but thankfully, they're going to be okay," Pemberton told NBC News.

Pemberton added the fourth injured officer was injured, likely in a fall, and is not seriously hurt.

The shooting began after police went to the home around 7:30 a.m. to execute an arrest warrant for cruelty to animals, according to NBC Washington and police.

There is no indication that there is anyone else at the residence, Tom Lynch, MPD Spokesperson said, but there may be dogs inside, Smith told reporters.

Authorities are in "constant communication" with the suspect and "negotiators are in negotiations with him," the chief said.

Several blocks have been shut down and multiple schools in the area were on lockdown.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.