Minneapolis police arrested a man on Saturday afternoon in connection with what they called a targeted attack on an officer who was shot and wounded after responding to an early-morning burglary call.

The officer, whose name authorities have not released, was taken to a hospital by his partner with wounds that were not life threatening, police said.

After a search lasting for hours, police announced they had arrested Andrew Neal, 43, on burglary and domestic assault charges, adding that they were exploring the connection between the incidents from which those charges stemmed and the shooting.

The officer was shot before 5 a.m. local time in north Minneapolis as he returned to his squad car, Minneapolis Police Department spokesman John Elder said.

"We believe that he was targeted because he was wearing a uniform," Elder said. "We believe that this is simply an assault against the police."

Elder declined to say where on his body the officer was shot.

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges called the shooting "a cowardly act."

The incident follows the fatal shooting of two police officers in New York City in December by a gunman who had written that he wanted to avenge the killing of unarmed black men by police.