As daylight rose across the border between Washington and Silver Spring, the light of day highlighted what was only hours before a chaotic and dangerous scene where police officers and a Washington man exchanged gunfire.

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The Metropolitan Police Department and the Montgomery County Police Department are investigating the police-involved shooting that occurred early Friday morning in Northwest that left an officer in critical condition and the suspect injured as well.

Montgomery County Police say officers - an eight-year veteran and a two-month rookie - were responding to reports of gunfire on Eastern Avenue at about 12:39 a.m. when they encountered the suspect firing randomly outside his home.

During the gun battle, the unidentified suspect was shot three times in the chest and lower body. He is reported to be in critical condition.

The officer also suffered a wound to his hand, police say. He was treated and released from the hospital.

Silver Spring resident Heather Bolander, who lives across the street from the shooting scene, said she couldn't believe what she found when she got to her car on Friday morning. Her car was one of those caught in the crossfire.

"The front windshield, the back windshield, the driver's side window...are all busted out," she said. "The leather seats are all torn up."

Several cars fell victim to the fate Bolander's did - littered with bullet casings and holes.

"I've lived here for 8 years and nothing like that has ever happened around here," Maurice Page, who lives next door to the gunman, said.

A relative of the suspect arrived at the scene, visibly upset, ABC7 reports. She told police that the suspect lives nearby on the Silver Spring side of Eastern Avenue.

Police will obtain a warrant to search the suspect's home, ABC7 reports.

The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave as is standard practice. Meanwhile, nearby residents are simply trying to come to terms with the shootout that shattered the calm.