FREDERICKTOWN – A Fredericktown police officer fired at a suspect on June 17 after the man pointed a gun at the officer, a news release from the Fredericktown Police Department said.

Patrolman Josh Jones stopped a maroon Pontiac sedan on Fredericktown Amity Road near Armentrout Road at approximately 2:47 p.m., the release said.

“As Patrolman Jones made his initial approach to the vehicle, the unknown male driver pointed a handgun at him through the driver’s side window,” the release stated. “In response, Ptl. Jones fired his duty-issued sidearm at the driver and the vehicle then accelerated away at a high rate of speed.”

The officer followed the car but eventually lost sight of it, the department said. The car was later found in Richland County.

Jones was not injured, police said.

It is unknown whether the suspect fired at the officer, how many shots Jones fired at the suspect or whether the suspect was injured.

“It is believed that there was an unknown passenger seated in the passenger seat of the vehicle,” the release said.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Knox County Sheriff’s Department are investigating.

Jones has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard practice for any officer-involved shooting, the release said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Knox County Sheriff's Office at (740) 397-3333.