WASHINGTON >> Three police officers were shot in Washington and a fourth suffered minor injuries after someone suspected of animal cruelty opened fire on them this morning, authorities said.

The officers are expected to survive the wounds and were being treated at area hospitals after the shooting in the nation’s capital, the Metropolitan Police Department said. The fourth was hurt at the scene, but not shot.

The shooter remained barricaded inside a home in the southeast part of the city hours after opening fire on police, a police spokeswoman said.

Officers were attempting to make an arrest on an animal cruelty warrant, but the suspect refused to leave the home, police said. As officers tried to get inside, the person opened fire.

The three officers suffered gunshot wounds in the hand and foot, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said.

“This remains an active situation and the individual has continued to fire from that location,” she said.

Crisis negotiators were speaking to the suspect, Smith said as she pushed lawmakers to pass legislation that would strengthen penalties for gun offenses in the nation’s capital.

The police union confirmed three of its members had been shot.

Roads were closed and schools were locked down in the southeast part of the city and police warned people to stay far from the area as the shooting unfolded.

The incident comes as the District of Columbia is struggling with a sharp increase in violent crime, which went up 39% in 2023. It was largely fueled by a 35% rise in homicides and growth in carjackings, which nearly doubled.