An off-duty Huntington Park police officer fired on four men after a road-rage confrontation that left two shot outside a Chino Hills shopping mall Thursday night, authorities said.

The unidentified officer had an altercation with four men in another vehicle as the two cars traveled southbound on the Chino Valley (71) Freeway, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Cindy Bachman.

The officer exited his vehicle in a parking lot at the Shoppes at Chino Hills, and the four other men exited theirs.

When the men walked toward the officer, and "he saw two of the suspects with objects in their hands, and believed they had weapons," a press release from Bachman stated.

He fired "several shots," striking two of the men, who ran a short distance away, then collapsed.

Authorities were called to the scene just before 8 p.m., finding an 8-inch knife and a can of pepper spray, the release said. The two men who were shot were hospitalized.

Bachman said one of the injured was released from the hospital and has been detained. The other man, who is still in the hospital and is expected to recover, will likely face charges, she said.

One of the uninjured men was also being held, she said.

The officer, identified as the "victim" by the sheriff's department, is not being held on any charges, Bachman said.