A Maryland police officer who was shot Monday morning in downtown Silver Spring has died.

Citing law enforcement officials, WUSA 9 reports that the Montgomery County officer who was shot just before 9 a.m. passed away. The officer remains unidentified, and authorities have not released further details about the circumstances of the shooting.

Police continue to search for the shooter or shooters.

“It’s a dynamic situation. We’re trying to avoid the area if we can. Everybody stay out of the area while were continuing to look to piece this together and to find suspects if possible,” Montgomery County police spokesman Capt. C. Thomas Jordan said, according to the report.

“This is one of the hardest things that as police officers we have to deal with and one of the things. We have to recognize is that it’s not just affecting the police officers, it’s affecting the communities, too.”

Authorities have not yet released a suspect description but have said that they should be considered armed and dangerous.

This is a developing story. CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.

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