Two LAPD Officers Are Wounded in Shootout : Crime: One victim is in critical condition after gunfire erupts in Hollywood late Friday. Police are seeking suspected gang member.

Two Los Angeles police officers were wounded--one seriously--by gunfire Friday night in Hollywood, and a SWAT team and dozens of other officers barricaded Sunset Boulevard searching for a suspect.

One wounded officer, identified only as 34 years old, was in “very critical condition” at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said a hospital spokeswoman. The officer was reportedly shot in the head.

The other officer suffered superficial injuries and was taken to Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in “non-critical” condition, officials said.

The gunfire erupted about 9 p.m. in the 5600 block of Sunset Boulevard at the Dunes Motel.

Police Capt. Bruce Hagerty said that the Hollywood Division officers made a traffic stop and that a follow-up investigation took them to a room at the motel.

“When the officers approached the suspect, the door opened and there was an exchange of gunfire between the officers and suspect,” Officer Sandra Costello said.

“Suddenly, gunshots rang out,” said a hotel worker, who declined to give his name. “And then all hell broke out. Everybody started running.”

“All I can see is a lot of police,” said the worker.

“The police asked us to turn all the lights out. Sunset is blocked off. Nobody can get in or out,” he said.

About 10 LAPD patrol cars were fanned out in front of the motel as officers scurried in and out.

A police SWAT team entered the room shortly after 11 p.m., but found that it was empty.

The suspect was described as a very thin, 6-foot-2 light-skinned Latino who is believed to be a local gang member. Police officials said the suspect is at large and is considered armed and dangerous.

Bystanders who gathered near the police barricade said they could smell tear gas wafting through the air shortly after SWAT officers were seen entering the motel from the rear and roof areas.

A Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman said both wounded officers were in uniforms.

Troi Martin, a passerby, said he saw two police officers, with guns drawn, approaching a car in the parking lot.

“As I got closer, the gunshots started going off. I just heard a bunch of gunshots and I stopped and ducked,” Martin said.

He said he saw other police officers arrive, run up the stairs and grab someone.

“About a half a dozen cops brought this person down and tossed him in the back of a police car. He obviously had been wounded,” Martin said.

Despite the constant threat of violence in their jobs, shootings of police officers have been relatively rare in recent years in Los Angeles.

Earlier this year, rookie LAPD Officer Christy Lynn Hamilton was shot and killed while responding to a domestic dispute in Northridge. And last year, Officer Ray Mendoza was wounded by a suspected gang member.