LOS ANGELES, Nov. 27 -- A police officer was shot Wednesday afternoon when responding to a domestic dispute in the city of Inglewood, Los Angeles in the United States, according to local authorities.

The gunman has been taken into custody and his two hostages are safe, according to Oscar Mejia, a police official of the Inglewood Police Department.

The shooting occurred around 12:40 p.m. near 108th Street and 5th Avenue, where two officers were sent to after receiving a report of family disturbance in the area.

The gunman first opened fire and the police fired back, Mejia said.

During the exchange of fires, one male officer was shot in the chest and injured but was "saved by his bulletproof vest," said Mejia. The other female officer fell and wounded when trying to protect her partner, he added.

The gunman then holed himself up inside the home with two hostages -- a mother and her 14-year-old daughter.

The standoff has lasted for almost nine hours before the gunman was taken into custody and hostages were freed.

Both of the two officers have been taken to a local hospital and "are out of danger," said James Madia, Captain at Inglewood Police Department.

"There were so many gunshots, oh my God, it was like you were in a war zone," Esther Fraizer, who lives across the street telling local media.

The gunman is 45 years old with a criminal record, said Lt. Dave Dolson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.