A Metro Transit Police officer shot and seriously wounded a man who was seen trying to carjack two different drivers in the Rosslyn area Friday morning, authorities said.

The man who was shot was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound and is in critical condition, Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Anzallo said at a news conference Friday.

The shooting happened shortly after 11:30 a.m., after the Metro Transit officer, who was on patrol and on his way to the Rosslyn Metro station in a police vehicle, happened to see the man attempting to carjack someone in the area of N. Nash Street and Fort Myer Drive, authorities said.

The officer confronted the man, who took off running down the block. A brief foot chase ensued. Anzallo said the suspect then attempted to carjack another driver down the block — near N. Kent Street and 19th Street — before the officer fired his weapon during what the police chief described as a “confrontation.”

No one else was hurt.

Anzallo said the officer immediately rendered aid to the man.

Arlington County police are handling the investigation into the attempted carjackings and the police shooting. A spokeswoman said it remains an active investigation and asked anyone who saw anything to contact authorities.

Metro Transit Police officers carry firearms and patrol Metro stations and bus routes throughout the D.C. area primarily on foot.