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       An off-duty police sergeant on his way into work with the D.C. Housing Authority was shot during an exchange of gunfire Tuesday evening while in a vehicle on New York Avenue in Northeast Washington, police said.

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       The shooting occurred about 5:10 p.m. between Bladensburg and Montana avenues, according to police.

       Deputy Housing Authority Police Chief Steven Spencer told reporters at a news conference Tuesday night that the sergeant and a person in a gray Honda exchanged gunfire from their respective vehicles.

       He said the sergeant was driving west in the 2200 block of New York Avenue NE near Ivy City when the shooting occurred. He said investigators do not know whether the man in the Honda was struck.

       Spencer said the reason for the shooting was not immediately clear and remains under investigation. A D.C. police spokesman said the sergeant, a 27-year veteran, was in surgery at a hospital Tuesday night.

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       In an interview, D.C. Housing Authority Police Chief Joel Maupin said the sergeant was alert and spoke to his family before being taken into surgery. He said the sergeant was struck in his side.

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       “It appears that he’s going to be okay,” Maupin said.

       No arrest has been made. Police said they are searching for a gray Honda with tinted windows and Maryland license plates. The plate number was not known.

       Maupin said it appears the officer was in his personal vehicle and dressed in street clothes, though authorities later said it is possible he was wearing his uniform as some officers do as they head into work.

       Maupin said the shooting “doesn’t appear to have anything to do with him being with the police.”

       D.C. Housing Authority police officers patrol public housing complexes in the District. Maupin said the agency has 16 sworn officers, about half of its authorized strength.

       Tuesday’s shooting came days after a D.C. police officer was shot in a shootout in Southeast Washington. Police said they are investigating whether that officer was struck by a bullet fired by another officer. He was released from the hospital Friday.

       A 33-year-old man who police said shot at officers was fatally wounded in that encounter.

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