UPDATE 12PM: The teenager who allegedly drove the stolen car at the police officer is at the Royal Hobart Hospital with a head injury.
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It is unknown at this stage whether the injury was the result of shrapnel from the gun fire, or from something else.
UPDATE 10AM: A police officer who fired his gun during an incident in the state’s South was hit by a stolen car, driven by a teenager, police allege.
Tasmania Police said officers were responding to reports of a stolen vehicle being driven erratically in the Kingston area about 1am on Saturday.
The vehicle was located a short time later in a dead-end at Crystal Downs Drive in Blackmans Bay.
“When one of the police officers exited their vehicle, the driver of the stolen vehicle drove directly at him and the officer discharged his firearm at the vehicle,” Tasmania Police said in a statement.
“The officer was struck by the vehicle and has been taken to hospital with minor leg injuries.”
The 17-year-old allegedly left the scene and abandoned the stolen vehicle at Wattle Avenue in Kingston.
He was found by police in a nearby yard and was taken to hospital with a head injury. Police said the cause of the injury was not yet known.
There were no other passengers in the vehicle, police said.
The Professional Standards Command is investigating the incident, which police said was standard procedure when a firearm is discharged.
The officers involved are receiving assistance from the Critical Incident Stress Management team.
EARLIER: A 17-year-old is in custody after an incident overnight in Blackmans Bay, which resulted in a police officer firing a gun.
Tasmania Police said officers were responding to a stolen vehicle being driven “erratically” when the firearm was discharged, about 1am on Crystal Downs Drive.
Police said there were no further details available at this time.
However, investigators are appealing for witnesses to the erratic driving behaviour or the incident in Crystal Downs Drive to come forward.
Anyone who can assist police should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.