A shootout following an attempted robbery inside a busy shopping center in Brooklyn Tuesday left a suspect in critical condition, police say.

Police say they responded to a report of gunshots inside a Dollar Tree store located in a crowded shopping center at 4:47 p.m. Tuesday.

A 45-year-old man allegedly pulled out a gun and tried to rob the store after the employee opened the cash register. Officials say he removed money and tried to run away when officers arrived. Police say officers and the man were wrestling on the ground when shots were fired by the man. Police returned fire, hitting him in the neck.

Those officers called for an ambulance and gave him first aid at the store on Rockaway Parkway. The suspect is now in Brookdale Hospital in critical but stable condition.

Police say he had robbed the same Dollar Tree store on Sunday. The two officers were not hit with the bullets, and the officer who did fire back was a 16-year veteran who had never discharged his weapon prior to this incident.