Four Alabama SWAT officers were shot early Sunday morning when they tracked the suspect in a double homicide to a Birmingham apartment, where the suspect opened fire on them as they entered.

Birmingham Police Sgt Rod Mauldin said the team returned fire and struck the suspect, killing him, according to AL.com.

Police have not yet identified the suspect or the initial two victims, who were reportedly shot in a dispute over a dog. Police found a male victim dead on the sidewalk when they responded to Brother Bryan Park at about 6:30 a.m.; a female victim was in the middle of the street with a gunshot wound to the head.

She was taken to the University of Alabama-Birmingham Hospital, where she succumbed to her injury.

Witnesses told police the victims were transient and were often seen in the area. They reportedly had a dog with them, but Mauldin said the dog has not been found.

Mauldin said witness statements and surveillance video led police to the Stratford Apartments, several blocks away from the original crime scene and where the suspect lived. The SWAT team was brought to the scene to execute the search warrant on the suspect’s third floor apartment.

“Upon making entry, they were immediately met by gunfire,’’ Mauldin said.

Other officers rushed their wounded comrades to UAB Hospital, just a few blocks away.

Alabama’s State Bureau of Investigation will conduct the investigation into the officer-involved shooting.

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