MIAMI (CBS4) – Miami Dade police confirm that several suspects believed to have been involved in the robbery and shooting of an off duty officer are in custody.

Investigators said the Miami-Dade officer was not in uniform and was volunteering at his neighborhood church where he is a member. That’s when police said three men approached him in the parking lot.

“They demanded property from him,” said Rosanna Cordero-Stutz of the Miami Dade Police Department. “They took property from him and then they shot him.”

Police said the officer was hit in the chest yet he was still able to call 911 on his own. His mother also said he called his father and told him that he would be okay and not to worry.

Miami Dade Police arrived on the scene at 6701 NW 7th Avenue first and rushed the officer via squad car to the Ryder Trauma Center.

His mother arrived on the scene shortly after hysterical from emotion.

Miami Dade Police said the officer is a 10 year law enforcement veteran with six of those years spent on the Miami Dade Police force.

Police launched a massive manhunt for the three men accused in the crime. Police said they drove away in a red 2007 or 2008 model Pontiac G6. Police from all over joined in the search in the crime against one of their own.

“Your emotions have to be checked that much more,” said Cordero-Stutz. “At the end of the day, this is our job and this is what we do when we investigate these type of horrific crimes.”