Three police officers were injured and one was killed as the gunfire broke out between the police and a gunman in a small city in West Texas on Thursday.

The gunfire started with a confrontation of a "possibly armed suspect" on a residential street in Levelland, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Lubbock.

The gunfire escalated as the suspect barricaded himself inside a house, and a standoff was ensued.

An officer who was taken to a hospital in Leveland was died of his wound while the other three who were taken to a Lubbock Hospital survived. Two of the survivors are in critical condition. The critically injured officers are from Lubbock County and Hockley County respectvely.

The other wounded police is from Leveland.

The police officer who was deceased was the commander of Lubbock county sheriff's tactical unit. Sgt. Josh Bartlett of the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office died of his wounds, according to a sheriff's office statement