The officer was shot in the thigh at point blank range, police said.
CAMDEN -- Camden County Police Chief J. Scott Thomson described the man charged with shooting an officer in the thigh Wednesday night as a 19-year-old Crips gang member with a lengthy adult arrest record despite the fact that he only turned 18 a year and a half ago.
Delronn Mahan is being held at the Camden County Jail on charges including attempted murder, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.
"He's a bad guy," Thomson said of Mahan, whom he said had previously been arrested on drug charges in the same neighborhood where the shooting occurred. "In that short period of time of being an adult he has three felony convictions... Last night I think was his 10th arrest since he's 18 years old."
Thomson told reporters in a press conference Wednesday that the officer who was shot at point blank range, Patrick O'Hanlon, is stable and recovering from the wound. The bullet went through his upper right thigh.
Thomson described Hanlon as a 21-year-old "diligent guardian" with a year on the job. He is also in the U.S. Army Reserves.
O'Hanlon was shot after approaching a group of three "suspicious" men in the area of 8th Street and Chelton Avenue shortly after 10 p..m. Wednesday night, Thomson said. Mahan fled and O'Hanlon gave chase, at which point Mahan pulled out a gun.
They struggled for the weapon, Thomson said, and the officer was shot.
The gun apparently jammed after that shot, which Thomson said was fortunate because Mahan then tried unsuccessfully to shoot O'Hanlon in the face.
"He able to rip the gun out of his hands, toss it off to the side and at the same time overpower the suspect and physically stay on top of him until backup arrived which was a matter of seconds," he said.
Officers who responded took Mahan into custody without harming him and used a tourniquet to limit the loss of blood from O'Hanlon's gunshot wound, Thomson said.
Mahan is charged with attempted murder, resisting arrest, two counts of aggravated assault, and three weapons charges, according to the prosecutor's office.
Court records show Mahan is currently on probation after being convicted of charges including drug distribution, burglary and receiving stolen property over the last year.
Thomson told reporters that O'Hanlon was patrolling in the area of 8th Street and Chelton Avenue because the area has been dealing with drug dealing and violence, among other things. He declined to say what about the group of men seemed suspicious to O'Hanlon.
He said the police department's efforts in the area south of Centerville will not stop at patrols, especially after this shooting.
"We realize the community was being victimized by this suspect as much as our officer was last night," he said. "So we are going to be out there today, knocking on doors, making people feel safe. We'll have our ice cream truck out there, we will be barbecuing and we'll be building relationships."
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.