BALTIMORE (AP) — A Baltimore police officer was on life support in an intensive care unit Thursday after being shot in an attempted robbery, authorities said.

City officials said Sgt. Isaac Carrington, 43, was off duty and talking to a neighbor outside his house in northeast Baltimore shortly before 3:30 p.m. when a vehicle pulled up and a masked man jumped out, pointed a gun and demanded their property.

Authorities say the neighbor threw his items on the ground and began running, and that Carrington, a 22-year member of the force, began running in the opposite direction.

Police say the gunman chased Carrington and shot him several times. The gunman then got back in the vehicle, which fled the scene.

At a news conference Thursday evening, officials pleaded with the public to assist in the investigation and work with law enforcement to reduce violent crime in the city.

"We need you to step up... We can do better, Baltimore," Mayor Jack Young said.

Dr. Thomas Scalea, a physician at R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, said Carrington was in an intensive care unit after suffering multiple gunshot wounds to his torso and extremities.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan issued a tweet asking people to keep the officer in their prayers as he fights for his life.

Hogan added that thoughts and prayers alone are not enough, and that state and local leaders must join together to get violent shooters off the streets.