A Baltimore police officer suffered life-threatening injuries after being shot multiple times while sitting in a patrol car early Thursday in the southern part of the city.

       Police said the incident happened around 1:30 a.m. in the 4400 block of Pennington Avenue in the Curtis Bay neighborhood. The officer was on duty in a marked police car when a shooter approached from behind the parked car and began firing. The police car went forward, then crashed a little farther down the block.

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       Other officers responded for a call about a vehicle that crashed and found the officer when they arrived. The injured officer was taken to the city’s shock trauma unit and is on life support, according to officials.

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       Michael S. Harrison, Baltimore’s police commissioner, called the shooting a “cowardly, brazen act.”

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       “We will find who did this and hold as many people who are responsible accountable,” Harrison said.

       In a statement, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) said the shooter “must be brought to justice.”

       “No family should be dealing with this pain, especially during the holidays,” Scott said. “As a city, we owe it to our officer to quickly bring those responsible to justice.”

       Thomas Scalea, one of the chief surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical System’s Shock Trauma Center, said at a news conference that the officer underwent “lifesaving surgery” and that the prognosis was “guarded.”

       No details were immediately released about the officer’s identity, gender or length of service with the department.

       Police said anyone with information about the shooting should contact them at 410-396-2100.