An Omaha police officer was shot and wounded during a confrontation with a man who was suspected of shoplifting T-shirts, authorities say.

Officer Jeffrey Wittstruck, who was struck in the face and the top of his head, was “stable and recovering,” officials said last Saturday. And 21-year-old Kenya Lamont Jenkins Jr. was booked into the Douglas County Jail earlier in the day on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and use of a gun to commit a felony.

Omaha police said the shooting happened around 4 p.m. Friday after Wittstruck went to the JC Penney department store security office, where Jenkins had been detained.

Police said a struggle ensued after Jenkins put his right hand in his sweatshirt and refused to show his hands. Wittstruck used a Taser, but the probes were ineffective. Police said the struggled ended with Jenkins pulling a gun from his sweatshirt pocket and firing four shots.

Police said Wittstruck, whose body-worn camera was recording, never took his gun out of its holster. He was arrested following a high-speed pursuit by the Nebraska State Patrol later that evening. He was spotted near the Pump and Pantry gas station in Gretna. State troopers deployed stop sticks near the Waverly interchange on Interstate 80, according to a police news release.

Police said Jenkins “has a history” of resisting arrests and escape. He has no direct ties to the Omaha area and has not been charged with any crime in Nebraska.

In a statement last Friday evening, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert asked the community for prayers and support for Wittstruck.

“Our police officers take risks every day to protect all of us,” Stothert said. “Please thank our officers and their families for their dedication to public safety and public service.”

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer thanked the community for its support and concern.

“Our prayers are with Officer Wittstruck and his family for a full recovery,” he said in a statement. “Omaha Police Officers answer 911 calls over and over again throughout the day to keep Omaha safe. It is important to remember the dangers officers put themselves in on each and every call; calls that must be answered because someone was in need.”

The Daily Record contributed to this report.