Police on Staten Island say two men are facing a list of charges after NYPD officers responding to a gunfire call early Thursday morning shot and wounded an armed man wearing a bulletproof vest in the Charleston neighborhood. NY1's Rocco Vertuccio filed the following report.

It was dramatic and potentially life-threatening morning Thursday in a Staten Island neighborhood of small homes and auto repair shops.

Police searched by air and on the ground for a man considered armed and dangerous . 

"We got two calls for shots fired," said Edward Delatorre, NYPD assistant chief and borough commander. "One came into the stationhouse, the 123 stationhouse, and the other one came over 911."

The gunfire allegedly came from two 24-year-old men, Patrick Allen and Jonathan Derbyshire.

Police say the men were test firing weapons on Androvette Street and Arthur Kill Road at about 1 a.m. A sergeant and an officer responded. 

Police say Allen turned toward the officers with a gun in his hand. 

"He was struck four times. Three times around the leg, once in a vest that he was wearing," said NYPD Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan.

That vest was a ballistic vest that may have saved his life.

Allen faces charges that include two counts of attempted murder, two counts of attempted assault and two counts of attempted assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon.

Derbyshire faces charges that include two counts of attempted assault and two counts of attempted assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon.

Police say they found three automatic guns and an assault rifle at the scene.

The second man took off into a wooded area. Police blocked off the neighborhood and finally took him into custody hours later.

Q: How dangerous is it to test fire? 
Police Commissioner James O'Neill: You're firing firearms within city limits, so it's very dangerous.

It was the third police-involved shooting in the city in less than 28 hours. In the first two cases, both in Brooklyn, police killed a man with a knife and another with a gun.

The police commissioner says he's always concerned by such shootings but does not yet see a trend.

''If you look at 2016, there were a number of incidents where people fired and pointed weapons at police officers. Very bad people in the world that make very bad decisions," O'Neill said.

Both men involved in the shooting on Staten Island have criminal records. Allen, the one who was shot, was taken to Staten Island University Hospital in stable condition. 

Charges against him include attempted murder and criminal weapons possession.

Derbyshire is facing attempted assault and weapons charges.

The two officers were taken to the hospital for ringing in their ears.