NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A veteran officer was being kept unconscious on a ventilator and was scheduled for more surgeries in the future after being shot multiples times along Interstate 40 in Nashville on Thursday afternoon.

Police arrested two men, including a Mississippi prison escapee, after Sgt. Mark Chesnut, 44, was hit multiple times during a traffic stop at about 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Police spokesman Don Aaron said Chesnut was entering information into his in-car computer when police believe a suspect, who had been pulled over in a 2008 Dodge Magnum with Georgia tags, walked up and opened fire near exit 196 in Bellevue.

Chesnut, a 22-year veteran of the Metro Police Department, was wearing body armor. Dr. John Morris, surgeon and director of Vanderbilt Medical Center's Trauma Division, said Chesnut was shot in the stomach, colon, gall bladder and liver.

"This is a life-threatening injury," said Morris. "He's on the ventilator, he's on life support, but we're all very hopeful that ultimately he will return home to his family and ultimately return to work."

He was driving an unmarked car as part of an interstate highway traffic enforcement effort, said Aaron.

Aaron said that Chesnut was alert and talking before surgery. Chesnut underwent one surgery shortly after the shooting and a second surgery on Thursday night. He had more surgery on Friday morning and was in the trauma sector of the intensive care unit of Vanderbilt Medical Center. Doctors said they had a high concern of infection affecting Chesnut's recovery.

Aaron said that another officer saw Chesnut at the traffic stop and, when he got word that Chesnut had been shot, turned around to assist.

Serpas said that even though Chesnut had been shot, he was in constant communication with police, leading to a quick arrest and preventing other people from being injured.

Police said Chesnut first pulled over the vehicle because of a traffic stop, but it was unclear what infraction the driver committed to cause the car to be pulled over.

Chesnut's wife and child had been on vacation in southern Alabama but were quickly brought to Nashville by a THP helicopter. The sergeant's wife was by his bedside.

Video showed many Metro officers and troopers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol outside the hospital in support of the injured officer.

Suspects Arrested Shortly After Shooting; Gunman Confesses

Two men connected to the shooting, Joseph Jackson, 29, and Courtney Logan, 25, of Louisville, Ky., were arrested on Hermitage Avenue near downtown within an hour of the shooting. Police said the men at first refused to get out of the vehicle, but they then surrendered without incident.

Jackson had escaped from police custody in Mississippi during an eye appointment Thursday morning and left in a car driven by another man. The escape was aided by an armed accomplice who entered the doctor's office, fired a shot in the air, and ordered everyone in the office to get down on the floor.

Jackson was serving a life sentence at the Delta Correctional Facility in Greenwood, Miss., for armed robbery and aggravated assault. Police testified that Jackson confessed to shooting Chesnut on Thursday.

Police said a semi-automatic pistol was also recovered from the suspects' car. Logan had two magazines of ammunition with him when he was arrested. The gun believed to have been used to shoot Chesnut was recovered from the passenger side of the officer's police car.

The Dodge Magnum that Logan was driving was a rented car from Louisville.

"These were some dangerous, dangerous, dangerous people who cowardly attacked Sgt. Chesnut while he sat in his car running their license plate," said Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas.

Both of the suspects' bonds have been set for more than $3 million. Jackson was charged with attempted homicide of a police officer, gun charges and for being a fugitive from justice.

Police said Logan tried to hang himself on Friday morning but was not successful. He is now on suicide watch.

A hearing for the men was scheduled for July 1.

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