17-Year-Old Boy Hospitalized In Officer-Involved Shooting On Walt Whitman Bridge After Stealing School Bus, Police Say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A teenager was shot on the Walt Whitman Bridge in an officer-involved shooting after he stole a school bus and then confronted officers with a knife, police say. Officials say the 17-year-old boy was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Authorities say the teen crashed the $60,000 school bus into a guardrail on the Walt Whitman Bridge. Delaware River Port Authority CEO John Hanson says when officers arrived, they saw a masked person trying to leave the scene.
Hanson says the suspect failed to comply with the officers' commands and began wielding a knife towards them.
"The masked man suddenly charged at the officers with knife in hand, giving the officers no choice but to discharge their weapons, striking the individual," he said.
Two officers fired their weapons at the suspect during the encounter. Authorities couldn't yet say how many times the teen boy was shot or where he was hit.
For hours, only one lane of traffic was able to travel into New Jersey.
The manager of H.A. DeHart and Sons bus dealership in West Deptford said the bus was stolen off their lot by someone who looked like a minor late Sunday night.
The company says the bus was getting ready to be delivered to its new owners, Holcomb Bus Company.
A West Deptford police officer tried to pull the bus over but the teen driver kept going, traveling toward Philadelphia and speeding.
"It was fortunate that it was 11:40 at night, there wasn't that many people on the highway but it was getting to a point where it was becoming reckless, that it could become a public safety hazard and we terminated the pursuit at that point," West Deptford Police Department Chief Sean McKenna said.
Hanson says the teen is in stable condition.
The Philadelphia Police Department is assisting in the investigation.
This is only the second shooting involving Delaware River Port Authority police in its history.
The eastbound lanes were shut down for some time, but all lanes have since reopened.
CBS3's Matt Petrillo contributed to this report.