Six shots were fired at a man involved in a confrontation with police near Darwin, the force has confirmed.
The shots were all fired by one officer while a second deployed a Taser during the incident at a park in Palmerston on Tuesday.
It remains unclear how many shots struck the injured man, a 19-year-old who remains in hospital in an improved but still critical condition after undergoing emergency surgery.
Northern Territory Assistant Commissioner Michael White said it had been confirmed that the man had been armed with a spear during the incident and had allegedly tried to throw the weapon at the officers.
"It's evident at that time the officers were in danger," Mr White said.
The officers were both wearing body cameras that were operating.
Mr White said investigations were continuing at the scene with ballistics officers on-site on Wednesday.
Their work would be crucial in determining how close the officers were to the man at the time of the incident.
"More broadly we've reached out to the family and we're doing everything we can to engage with them so they can understand the status of the investigation to ensure they have a full appreciation of what occurred yesterday," Mr White said.
"We're working very hard to create that relationship with the family."
Tuesday's shooting came after the officers had responded to a domestic violence report.
It has not yet been confirmed if the two incidents were directly linked but they were following a trail of blood in the area.
Mr White said the force was doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the officers and their families amid the potential for angst within the community.
"We're doing everything we can to ensure our officers' safety, the safety of their families and the safety of the community," he said.
"Understandably, they are shaken up, they are human.
"What they went through yesterday, nobody wants to go through."
Mr White said it was important for everyone to understand that police were doing everything possible to get to the bottom of what occurred.
