Law enforcement authorities have said that a young police officer with a newborn son was shot and killed early on Wednesday and a suspect found nearby was arrested.

Trent Crump, a spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department, said that the shooting occurred after police tried to stop a Ford Mustang at about 1 a. m.

The Arizona Republic has reported that the car initially eluded the officers, who found it a short time later. Police were looking for the occupants of the car when shots were fired, wounding Officer Travis Murphy, 29.

Officers rushed Murphy to a hospital in a police car. He was pronounced dead at about 3:30.

Police said that a tactical team with a police dog found a suspect, Danny Martinez. Martinez, naked, was hiding in a shed.

KPHO-TV, Phoenix, has reported that police Chief Jack Harris left a meeting in Washington with U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder and returned to Phoenix after getting news of the killing.

Harris further said, "One of the first things that his wife said to me was that he absolutely loved his job. And he absolutely loved our department. She said she asked him if he wanted to get promoted in the future or work a specialty detail. He said he wanted to do just what he was doing."

It was also reported that Murphy and his wife have two young children, a girl, 2, and a boy born two weeks ago.

Martinez was freed in 2009 after serving time for a weapons charge, the Arizona Department of Corrections said. (With Inputs from Agencies)