PHILADELPHIA, PA – A high-speed chase in Philadelphia culminated in a gunfight early Sunday morning, leaving two police officers and a suspect injured, according to city law enforcement officials.
The incident began around 2:30 a.m., when police responded to reports of gunfire. Officers on the scene identified a pickup truck driven by a man suspected to be involved in the reported shooting. The suspect initially halted when an officer activated his emergency lights, but as the officer approached on foot, the suspect sped off.
A second sighting of the truck led to a pursuit, which ended when the suspect rammed his vehicle into a police car. Exiting his truck, the suspect opened fire on the police. Four officers returned fire, hitting the 40-year-old man at least once. The suspect was rushed to a hospital where he underwent surgery and remains in critical condition.
Among the wounded officers, a 32-year-old nine-year veteran of the force suffered a minor wound to his nose, while a 31-year-old officer with six years of service was shot in the ankle and grazed on the head. Both officers were hospitalized, with the latter in stable condition. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening. The police vehicle they were in was the one rammed by the suspect’s truck, and it was also hit by several bullets, shattering its rear passenger window.
In a press briefing, interim city Police Commissioner John Stanford revealed that one of the injured officers had been wounded in a previous shooting, but declined to provide further details. The identities of the officers and the suspect have not been released. No other injuries were reported in the chase or the shootout.
The four officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative duty pending an investigation, as per standard procedure in such incidents.