Three Philadelphia police officers were shot and wounded and a suspect was killed early Wednesday when a SWAT team tried to arrest a man wanted on a homicide charge, police said.
The shooting occurred around 6:30 a.m., soon after officers tried to serve a warrant in North Philadelphia, said First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford. The 19-year-old suspect, whose name was not released, fired at officers through a window as they were attempting to knock on the front door, Stanford said.
Officers entered the house, where the man and officers exchanged gunfire, he said. The man tried to exit the back of the home while firing at officers, who returned fire.
The man was wanted for a homicide that occurred in August, Stanford said, but did not release details of that killing. He was also a suspect in several armed robberies.
The 19-year-old was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead, Stanford said. Police did not release details of his injuries or say how many times he had been shot.
One officer was shot in the hip, while another had a leg wound. A third officer was hit in the chest by a bullet that ricocheted off of his Kevlar vest. All three were taken to a hospital and were listed as stable, but their names and further information about them was not disclosed.
“The fact that … there are this many incidents with SWAT officers being fired upon, it is not normal. We have come to believe this is a normal course of events. It is not,” Stanford said at a news conference.
It was unclear how many people were in the home at the time of the shooting, but at least one other person was taken from the scene in handcuffs. Police said they don’t believe anyone else was involved in the shooting, but the investigation is ongoing. (USAToday)