Police officers in Jersey City, New Jersey, came under fire Friday when an armed suspect started shooting at their patrol cars, officials said.

The chaotic scene unfolded on John F. Kennedy Boulevard near Clinton Avenue at around 1:20 p.m. when the male gunman shot at four officers driving by in two marked cars, the police department said. 

The suspect was hospitalized and later died after a sergeant in one of the cars got out and returned fire, police and the state attorney general's office said. The suspect's identity has not been released at this time. 

According to witnesses, the man had pulled out a handgun and pointed it at other vehicles before he aimed at the police officers driving by and shot at them.

The suspect fired multiple shots at the officers and struck both patrol cars at the busy Clinton Avenue intersection, a city spokesperson said. 

None of the officers were struck, but they were taken to the hospital for observation, police said.

No civilians were hurt, according to officials.

A witness waiting at a bus stop said the officers did not know what struck their cars at first. He said they realized they were bullets after he alerted them to the shooter, who aimed the gun at him too. 

"He was standing here. I just heard the two shots and he was on the ground. He started crawling after he got shot and then started, like, still resisting after he got shot," the witness, identified as Carlos A., said.

That witness was uninjured, but he was also taken to a local hospital for observation and released.

The Hudson County prosecutor said the shooting investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to reach out.