The Houston Police Department said it all unfolded just before 10 p.m. Thursday in the 3700 block of Liberty Road near Wallisville Road and the I-69 Eastex Freeway.
According to HPD Chief Noe Diaz, police saw what they believed was a drug deal between two young men on the street.
When an officer in uniform and a marked patrol car approached them, the suspects ran away.
HPD said police got out of their patrol cars and told the suspects to stop.
Diaz said that's when an officer noticed one of the young men was carrying a handgun in his waistband.
Police ran after a 15-year-old suspect with a gun and detained him, but a brief struggle ensued, and the suspect got away.
As the suspect was running, he turned and fired shots at least twice at officers, Diaz said, adding that's when the officer shot the suspect, hitting him several times in the upper torso.
ABC13 was told that the police gave him first aid and that he was taken to the hospital.
The 15-year-old was charged with aggravated assault of a peace officer.
The second young man involved got away. Police didn't provide a description of him but recovered a handgun at the scene.
The officer who shot the suspect wasn't injured and has been with the department for eight years, Diaz said.
Per policy, the officer will be placed on administrative leave.
Diaz also said that HPD will work through body camera footage and release the video in 30 days.