A Newark police officer was killed and another officer suffered critical injuries in a shooting in New Jersey’s largest city Friday evening, according to the police union and officials.

Gunfire erupted after 6 p.m. in the area of Broadway and Carteret Street in the city’s North Ward, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said. Police responded after 18 shots were fired.

As they got to the scene, the officers came across gunfire and called for urgent backup. Two officers were shot, according to officials.

One officer was struck in the head by a bullet and was rushed to University Hospital in critical condition, where they later died, the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association said in a post on Facebook.

The other officer was critically injured but had wounds that were not considered to be life-threatening, according to the county prosecutor’s office.