NEWARK, Ohio (AP) – Authorities say a suspect shot by police had altered a BB gun to make it look like a firearm and purposely tried to provoke officers in central Ohio. 

The Advocate (http://ohne.ws/1H4JLcJ ) in Newark reports that city's interim police chief says a 26-year-old man was shot in the hip late Wednesday after he raised his hand holding what appeared to be a firearm when police told him to drop the weapon. 

Chief Barry Connell says three officers confronted the man, who was taken to a Columbus hospital. His condition wasn't available Thursday night. 

Licking County's prosecutor says police recovered a BB gun that didn't have an orange tip and looked like it could have been a 9-millimeter gun.

The prosecutor's office and police are investigating.