Nik Rajkovic / news@whim.com

Michigan State Police report a trooper was wounded and a 23-year-old suspect killed in a shootout on Detroit's west side early Monday morning.

According to MSP First Lt. Rene Gonzalez, members of the auto theft team were working undercover in the area of Murray Hill and Trojan, not far from Eight Mile and the Lodge Freeway, around 4:40 a.m.

During their investigation, a Detroit man came out of a Chevrolet Cobalt and started shooting at troopers.

One trooper was hit three times - once in the leg, once in the back, and once in the chest area, which hit his ballistics vest.

The unidentified trooper, a seven-year veteran of the force, is currently in serious but stable condition at a hospital. He is expected to be okay.

Lt. Gonzalez said it's not clear whether the shooter was part of the investigation the unit was conducting. It is also unclear if the suspect was aware that the undercover troopers were police.