Manchester gunman shoots two police officers and sparks manhunt

The shootings took place in the early hours of Friday morning

Police said they were searching for the gunman suspected of shooting the two police officers (ABC)

Residents in the US city of Manchester, New Hampshire, were told to stay in their homes after two police officers were shot and injured and the authorities launched a search for the gunman,

Manchester Police Chief Nick Willard said early on Friday that two officers were shot at about 2am and that they were recovering at hospitals. There was no immediate word on the officers’ injuries or conditions. No details about the shootings have been released.

Mr Willard said police were searching for the suspected shooter, described as a white man with long hair who is wearing a trench coat. He is considered armed and dangerous, the Associated Press said.

He later told a local radio station that they were no longer looking for the person they believed had shot his officers.

"We are no longer looking for the individual we believe is responsible for shooting our two officers," he told WMUR-TV. "What that means — it's a fluid investigation and to protect the integrity of the investigation, I can't actually say whether or not that individual is in custody, or if that individual is being questioned or anything of that nature."

A number of schools on Manchester’s west side were closed and some residents were told to shelter in place due the search for the suspected shooter.

A witness on the city’s Ferry Street told ABC News that he heard a shot fired around 2am then saw a saw a person staggering. He then realised it was a police officer.

“I saw a man kind of stagger a little bit,” the witness said. “He staggered a few steps and then he called in that he had been shot. That's when I realised he was a cop.”