2 Philadelphia police officers, 40-year-old man injured during shootout in Holmesburg: police
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Two Philadelphia police officers assigned to the Highway Patrol Unit and a man were shot during a shootout early Sunday morning in Northeast Philadelphia, police said.
Police said at around 2:30 a.m., a sergeant with the 2nd District responded to a radio call for a man in a tan puffy jacket getting into a gray Ford pickup truck and firing a gun. Initially, police believed the truck was a Ford, but authorities learned later the vehicle was a Dodge Ram.
Authorities claim the sergeant eventually located the truck on the 7300 block of Brous Avenue occupied by the 40-year-old man and the officer called for backup and pulled him over at the intersection of Saint Vincent Street and the Boulevard.
Police said as the sergeant approached the truck, the man inside sped off on Saint Vincent and in the northbound outer lanes of the Boulevard, which led to a chase.
Later, two officers from the Highway Patrol unit attempted to conduct a "vehicle investigation" at the 8000 block of Frankford Avenue and Welsh Road, police said.
As the two officers were parked in front of the Dodge Ram, the man inside struck the rear of their patrol car, which caused "major damage," according to police.
The man inside the truck then began firing at officers after they got out of their patrol car, according to police. One officer suffered a graze wound to the bridge of his nose. According to police, this is the officer's second time being shot in the line of duty. The other officer was struck in his ankle and also suffered a graze wound to the head, authorities said.
Two more officers with the Highway Patrol Unit arrived at the scene and returned fire at the 40-year-old, according to police. The 40-year-old is currently in critical condition at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital following the shooting. It's unclear how many times or where he was shot.
Both officers struck by gunfire were placed in stable condition at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital.
"I had the opportunity to speak with both officers," Interim Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Stanford said. "We are very blessed and lucky to know they are going to be able to recover physically from this incident."
Police said the 40-year-old's gun was recovered in the truck and the patrol car driven by the two officers shot had its rear passenger window shattered by gunfire.
Police said all four officers discharged their weapons during the incident. Their identities haven't been released.
One of the officers shot is 32 years old and a nine-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, The other is 31 years old a six-year veteran of the department, authorities said.
Stanford said the 40-year-old who was shot by police has multiple priors.
"We have these press conferences over and over and over again where our officers are involved in these kinds of incidents," Stanford said, "that one, displays the commitment they have, but also displays the lack of respect for law enforcement in a sense that you have an individual who is willing to fire at officers when they are simply doing their job."
