A Harmony Township Officer is home recovering after being released from Allegheny General Hospital where he was transported after being shot in the early morning hours. Police say the officer’s life was saved by his ballistic vest.

According to law enforcement, Patrolman Alan Loskoch was on patrol at 3:45am this morning when he noticed a man attempting to break into cars. The man shot the officer through the passenger side window of his unmarked patrol car, hitting the officer in the chest, and fled the scene.

The officer was able to call out that shots were fired but dispatch was not able to copy a transmission of his location. Loskoch was found unconscious in his patrol car by an officer from Conway who responded to the scene, he later regained consciousness and was said to be mobile before being transported to the hospital.

Investigators say Officer Loskoch’s ballistic vest stopped the round and that the officer suffered no serious injury as a result of the shooting.

“I met with [Officer Loskoch] briefly,” District Attorney Tony Berosh told the Beaver Countian. “His spirits are up. This is a perfect example of people considering a lot of the police work routine, but showing the extent things can quickly escalate. Thank God he had his vest on.”

The officer is believed to have returned fire during the incident, but it is unknown if the suspect was hit. Investigators say they found no evidence at the scene indicating the suspect had been injured during the exchange of gunfire.

Police are seeking a light-skinned African American man approximately 6 feet tall with dreadlocks approximately four inches long. He was last seen wearing a dark colored hooded sweatshirt, and police say he should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Beaver County Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 reward for information about the shooting that leads to an arrest of the suspect, the Beaver County District Attorney’s Office is offering an additional reward of $5,000. Anyone with information is being asked to call the Pennsylvania State Police at 724-773-7400.

The last time a police officer was shot in the line of duty in Beaver County was on July 25th, 2012, when Monaca Patrolman Alan Shaffer was shot in the leg while pursuing a robbery suspect.