Injured officer rushed to ECMC

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Friends and colleagues headed to the Erie County Medical Center to check on Detective Garcia where he was initially taken.

Detective Garcia has been transferred to the care of a specialist after spending a few hours at ECMC. Now the 47-year-old detective is reportedly doing well. He is now at an ears, nose, throat specialist who is removing multiple shotgun pellets from Garcia's face.

While he was still at ECMC, he was visited by Mayor Brown and several Buffalo Police officers. He is awake and alert. Detective Garcia works undercover with the hostage management team.

When Garcia was shot, he was behind an armored vehicle that's known as a peace keeper.

Chief of Detectives Dennis Richards explained, "Office Detective Garcia was in back of the peace keeper identifying himself, as such, as Buffalo Police, trying to establish rapport, announcing the police presence and a shot was fired from the second story at the vehicle at the officer. He suffered a number of pellet wounds from a shotgun blast."

Police wouldn't expand on the extent of the injuries. He was hit in the face and the shoulder.