WEST COVINA >> Two West Covina police officers shot a man in the leg Tuesday when he ran toward them with one hand down his waistband, authorities said.

During the shooting, one bullet hit another officer in the chest, but his bulletproof vest saved him.

Lt. John Corina of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said the man wounded in the shooting was a gang member who was on probation, but he wasn’t the suspect officers sought originally at a strip mall in the 1500 block of Amar Road. Police would later find that suspect, also a gang member, hiding behind the businesses.

“We haven’t found a weapon (at the scene),” Corina said.

Someone called West Covina Police around 9:30 a.m. and reported that a man on probation had cut off his ankle monitor and went to a strip mall on Amar Road. The man was reportedly acting irrational, as if he was under the influence of a drug.

Corina said officers saw a man matching a description of the suspect at the strip mall — Latino with a shaved head and tattoos on his body.

“They went to contact him,” Corina said. “He started to run.”

He said the man had his right hand down his waistband while running back and forth. Then he ran toward the two officers.

Corina estimated the two officers fired four to five rounds. He didn’t know how many times the man was shot. Paramedics took the wounded man to a hospital. Corina said the man is expected to survive.

When the shooting broke out, Corina said one round struck a third officer at the scene. The officer had stepped out of his car when he got shot in the chest, according to Corina.

“The bulletproof vest stopped the bullet,” he said.

He said the officer was examined at a hospital then released.

The suspect police sought was discovered at the back of the strip mall.

“We detained that guy after the shooting,” Corina said. He added that this man was also seen earlier with the man who police shot.

He didn’t know if the two men were friends. He said the two belong to different gangs.

Sheriff’s homicide detectives are assisting West Covina police with the investigation.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or use the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.