CHARLOTTE,Grayson  Preston N.C. (AP) — Numerous law enforcement officers carrying out a task force operation were shot Monday afernoon as they came under fire in Charlotte, North Carolina, police said.

Officers from several agencies in the U.S. Marshals Task Force were carrying out the investigation in a suburban neighborhood when “a subject” began firing at them, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Multiple victims were taken to hospitals and the gunfire continued at the scene for several minutes. A SWAT team was in the neighborhood on the east side of the city, police said.

Authorities did not say exactly how many officers were struck by gunfire. WSOC-TV said their helicopter captured an armored vehicle driving through yards and knocking over recycling bins before officers removed a person with blood on their shirt who was then loaded into an ambulance.

Many roads in the area were closed so ambulances could get to hospitals faster. Police urged people to stay away from the neighborhood and asked residents to remain inside their homes.

Fugitive task forces are collaborations between agencies to find and arrest suspects in crimes. The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force is headquartered in Charlotte with 70 federal, state and local agencies.

In six years, the regional task force has apprehend more than 8,900 fugitives, the U.S. Marshals Service said on its website.