A man was found shot to death inside an apartment in the North Birmingham Homes on Tuesday night, and an armed man who exited the apartment was shot at by an officer investigating a report of a stolen vehicle in what police described as a “chaotic scene.”

Police are unsure whether the officer’s gunfire struck the armed suspect, according to Officer Truman Fitzgerald, but dispatchers are monitoring local hospitals for gunshot patients.

Around 8:20 p.m. Tuesday, the department’s Real Time Crime Center alerted North Precinct officers of a stolen vehicle at the North Birmingham Homes in the 3100 block of 43rd Avenue North, said Fitzgerald.

“Our officers arrived in that area when our patrol officers heard shots fired. Our patrol officer exited his patrol car when he observed a male exit an apartment armed with a firearm. There was a confrontation between our officer and the armed male in which our officer fired shots at the armed male,” he said.

The officer was not injured.

The suspect then got into the passenger seat of the stolen vehicle, which then sped off.

The patrol officer gave chase and pursued the stolen vehicle, catching up with it in the 4100 block of Fairmont Place, not far from the original scene.

No suspects were found in the vehicle.

During the chase, other officers checked the apartment where the gunshots were heard. They discovered a man shot inside.

Birmingham Fire & Rescue Service personnel arrived on the scene and pronounced the victim dead.

“We have dispatched a sea of law enforcement officers to this area for both scenes,” Fitzgerald said.

He said the Real Time Crime Center, which includes all-seeing live technology nestled in a hub on the fourth floor of police headquarters downtown, “has been crucial” to the case.

“We got into this area fast enough for our officer to hear those shots being fired” in the apartment, Fitzgerald said. “Not only did our officers hear those shots being fired, our officer was involved with a confrontation with a potential murder suspect where our officer fired shots at the murder suspect, so I think this just goes to show you how crucial the Birmingham Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center plays in our daily duties.”

Also, the city’s housing authority invested $6 million two years ago at its properties, including the North Birmingham Homes, that included security cameras that helped spot the stolen vehicle.