Veteran Chattanooga police sergeant Tim Chapin, 51, was killed while responding to a robbery at a pawn shop in Brainerd on Saturday morning. He had almost 27 years of service with the Chattanooga Police Department and was the father of two.

A second city police officer, Lorin Johnston, was shot, but the bullet deflected off the vest he was wearing, sources said. Officer Johnston in 2007 was the Exchange Club's Officer of the Year after he donated a kidney to a fellow officer with kidney disease.

The robber, who is a parolee from Colorado, was wounded during the gunfire and was taken to Erlanger Hospital. He was under heavy guard.

Sources said the robber was wearing a Kevlar bullet-proof vest during the shootout, which protected him from numerous bullets fired athim by half a dozen officers who had hurried to the robbery scene in Brainerd.

However, one shot was outside the vest area and has left him in a coma, sources said.

The officer who was killed was shot in the head when confronting the robber during the running gunbattle.

The sergeant was among officers responding to a robbery at the U.S. Money Shops near Big Lots. The location is behind the Rib and Loin Restaurant in the 5900 block of Brainerd Road.

The robber fired at the arriving officers when they caught him inside the store. The officers then retreated to their vehicles.

The robber emerged from the store and began firing at officers who were pursuing him in patrol cars and on foot. There were some six officers at the scene