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WINSTON-SALEM (MCT) —Winston-Salem police officers kept vigil yesterday at the bedside of Sgt. Mickey Hutchens, the officer critically wounded Wednesday morning in an exchange of gunfire on the bank of Salem Creek.

In an e-mail to the police department's staff, Chief Scott Cunningham described Hutchens' condition as "a roller coaster," and said that his injuries are "extremely serious."

Hutchens was in intensive care this morning and remained in critical but stable condition, Lt. David Lamb said this morning.

Officer Daniel Clark was also injured, but he was expected to be released last night or this morning.

Hutchens and Clark responded to a 911 call at the Bojangles' restaurant on Peters Creek Parkway shortly before 10:30 Wednesday morning.

A worker at the restaurant hit a panic alarm when she saw her manager's former husband, Monte Denard Evans, come into the restaurant. The two had a troubled relationship, and Sally Evans had told her co-workers that she was afraid of her former husband.

When Monte Evans saw Hutchens and Clark, he ran from the restaurant, and the officers gave chase.

Investigators were back on the scene yesterday, looking for physical evidence, such as shell casings, that would help unravel the sequence in which the men were shot. The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

Hutchens was shot in the face, and the bullet penetrated his skull. Two bullets hit Clark. His bulletproof vest stopped one of them.

The other hit him behind the right ear, and lodged in his skull, said David Freedman, an attorney for the Police Benevolent Association, which helps provide legal counsel when officers are involved in a shooting.

Evans was shot to death. An autopsy showed that he was shot in the head, the chest and abdomen, said Donald Jason, a Forsyth County medical examiner.

Freedman said that Clark fired his weapon, but he stopped short of saying that Clark killed Evans.

Capt. David Clayton, who oversees criminal investigations for the police department, said that Evans was shot by at least one of the officers.

Freedman said that the officers' actions probably saved the lives of the people at the Bojangles'.

"If the officers did not act as they did, the only place he was going to go was back in the Bojangles'," Freedman said. "At that point he's got nothing to lose."

The officers' families held a news conference yesterday to thank the public and police department for their support.

"We ask you to continue to pray for Officer Mickey and Officer Clark and his wife and their unborn baby," said the Rev. Mitchell Ray Davis of Forbush Baptist Church, where Hutchens is a deacon and teaches Sunday school. "We are thankful for their extreme bravery."

Members of Monte Evans' family said they were also praying for the officers' recovery.

Family members said they had questions about what led to the shootings.

"I understand that my brother was not right in his actions and that two officers are hurt," said Stephanie Evans, 34.

She said while her brother has had violent episodes in the past, he has always used his hands, never a gun.

One incident occurred in July 2006 when Monte Evans was charged with misdemeanor assault on a female. He was accused of striking Sally Evans in the face and choking her.

A prosecutor dismissed the charge against Evans because Sally Evans did not appear in court.

Stephanie Evans said the family believes that he took a pistol that belonged to a younger brother when he went to Bojangles'.

Evans had five children ranging in age from 2 to 16 -- three biological children who live in Pennsylvania and a child and a stepchild with Sally Evans.

As a child, he split his time between Winston-Salem and Philadelphia, his sister said. Recently he had been living off and on with family members.

The family knew that Evans had troubles, and had urged him to get counseling, Stephanie Evans said.

She said she talked with her brother three weeks ago and he seemed down. He was trying to find work. He also said he was still in love with Sally Evans and wanted to be included in her life and wanted to see their children.

"He was not an animal. He was a man who loved and was loved," she said.