An Oro Valley police officer shot and killed a man who was the subject of a undercover drug investigation.

It happened late Wednesday afternoon at the busy shopping center on the northwest corner of First Avenue and Wetmore Road in Tucson.

According to Tucson Police, which were investigating since the incident happened inside the city limits, the Oro Valley officers had been following some suspected drug suspects from the vicinity of Canyon Del Oro High School in Oro Valley.

"Our investigation is very preliminary at this point, but what it appears is that there has been an ongoing narcotics investigation involving the Oro Valley Police Department and a number of schools. and one of those schools has been identified as Canyon Del Oro," said Tucson Police Lieutenant Rick Middleton.

After the shooting, the driver ran the car he was driving into a column outside a store in the shopping center. The center has a WalMart, Best Buy and numerous other stores.

Witnesses say store managers closed some other stores right after the shooting.

Police say there was a passenger in the vehicle who was arrested. He complained of chest pains and was taken to an area hospital for treatment, but they said he was not shot.

Oro Valley Police spokesperon Liz Wright would only say that the officer involved in the shooting has been placed on paid administrative leave. She said that is normal policy.