4 officers shot after responding to domestic violence call; 1 is 'very critical'

Four South Carolina officers were rushed to the hospital today after being shot while responding to a domestic violence call late-Monday night, authorities said.

The officers responded minutes before 10:30 p.m. to the call from a home on tree-lined Farrier Lane in York County, South Carolina, county sheriff's office spokesman Trent Faris said today.

York is about 25 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.

"We could really use your prayers and we could really use your thoughts right now for those officers," Faris said. "Our main concern is for our guys that are in the hospital right now."

Faris described one officer as being in "very critical" condition.

He and two others officers were either in surgery or awaiting surgery, Faris said this morning, adding that the fourth officer had come out of surgery at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

Faris said a dispatcher took a 911 call placed at around 1 a.m., describing a man "actively assaulting a female at the home."

When the officers arrived, the alleged suspect, later identified as Christian Thomas McCall, 47, fled on foot.

Deputies and K-9 units attempted to track down McCall, who didn't get far while neighbors were told to remain inside their homes, authorities said.

The officers and McCall traded bursts of gunshots in a standoff that lasted several hours, Faris said.

The suspect allegedly shot a York Police Department K-9 unit officer before later allegedly shooting at officers again at around 3:30 a.m., Faris said.

That is when three county sheriff's deputies, who were members of the SWAT team and wearing "bulletproof vests," were struck, he said.

The injured officers' names have yet to be released.

McCall also sustained gunshot wounds during the alleged encounter with deputies and officers, before being taken into custody.

Like the officers, the suspect is also at the same hospital and undergoing surgery, Faris said.

ABC News' Matt Foster, Will Gretsky and Briana Montalvo contributed to this report.