A police officer has been shot dead and another wounded during a traffic stop in San Diego, authorities say.

“It is with a very sad heart that we announce the death of one of our officers tonight,” the San Diego Police Department said on Twitter.

The officers were shot during a traffic stop at about 11:00pm on Thursday local time in Southcrest, a south-eastern neighbourhood of San Diego, the San Diego Union Tribune reported.

They were taken to hospitals after the shooting.

It is with a very sad heart that we announce the death of one of our Officers tonight. Pray for his family pic.twitter.com/3l9PXa1vuW

— San Diego Police (@SanDiegoPD) July 29, 2016

One of the officers was shot multiple times and died, and the other was undergoing surgery early Friday, the newspaper reported.

Police took a suspect into custody and searched for other possible suspect or suspects, according to the department’s Twitter account.

The police department advised residents to shelter in place while they searched in the 3800 block of Boston.

The shooting comes amid a series of deadly encounters involving police in the United States.

Earlier this month, three law enforcement officers were gunned down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and five officers were killed in Dallas.

US Vice President Joe Biden travelled to Baton Rouge on Thursday to attend a vigil honouring the police officers shot dead on July 17.