A suspect in a stolen car struck and killed one officer and critically injured another during a wild chase involving multiple law enforcement agencies in the Southeast Valley, authorities said Thursday.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Chandler Police Officer Christopher Farrar,” his department tweeted.

Farrar was an 18-year veteran of the Chandler Police Department, the tweet said.

Multiple law enforcement agencies became involved in tracking the suspect. The incident began in Pinal County and ended at the SanTan Motorplex in Gilbert, according to ABC15 news.

A Gilbert Police officer was hospitalized in critical condition, the station reported.

The suspect was injured while finally being taken into custody as officers engaged in gunfire, said Officer Paul Alaniz, a Gilbert police spokesman.

An employee at a Ford dealership also was among the injured, Alaniz said.

Except for Farrar, no identities were released. Alaniz said the incident was an active investigation and that many details on what happened during the pursuit and the capture were not immediately available.

Alaniz and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said the pursuit began Thursday night in the nearby county when a sheriff's deputy tried to pull over a speeding vehicle and reported he'd been shot at.

Alaniz said the pursuit started in Eloy and went into Chandler, “where the suspect drove into the airport and busted through a gate going into the airport, causing the airport to shut down,” Alaniz said.

The suspect then got back on a highway into Gilbert, where he broke into the SanTan Motorplex and stole a vehicle from the Ford dealership there, running over the two officers as he tried to get away, Alaniz said.

Chandler Police Chief Sean Duggan said Farrar had touched many lives during his 18 years on the force.