A 13-year veteran officer of the Kings Mountain (NC) Police Department was shot Saturday night in an exchange of gunfire that left a suspect also wounded.

Cpl. Frank Lee Whittington Jr., the officer involved, was rushed to surgery but was recovering, police Chief Lisa Proctor told the Charlotte Observer.

Kings Mountain is about 30 miles west of Charlotte.

In the past two weeks, two officers have been slain in Charlotte suburbs. Officer Tyler Herndon was killed Dec. 11 in Mt. Holly, NC. Officer Jason Shuping was killed Dec. 17 in Concord, NC.

“We ware very thankful that he is still alive and we are not planning funeral number three for the last week and a half, for another law enforcement officer,” Proctor said.

The Kings Mountain incident began with a call to police at 8:01 p.m. Saturday from a home near Kings Mountain Country Club. The caller said an unknown person was on the home’s back porch.

The suspect then ran toward the country club, Proctor said. Whittington, who had been called to the scene, then encountered the suspect at some point.

Chief Proctor did not offer additional details.

The investigation has been turned over to the State Bureau of Investigation, which is standard protocol.