PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia police officer and another person who was shot near Kensington late Tuesday night have been released from the hospital.
Police continued Wednesday to investigate the chain of events including that shooting and a crash involving two other officers and the shooting suspect.
A 26th District officer was speaking with the victim of an armed robbery at about 10 p.m. Tuesday at Fourth and Harlan streets. The officer saw the suspect and confronted him.
"The cop was struck in the shoulder," said Deputy Commissioner Ben Naish.
"A neighbor contacted the responding officers and let them know that somebody was in the yard behind his house, when the officers went to check out the person back there, possibly being the suspect."
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Naish said more gunfire came.
"The individual that helped out the police to locate the suspect responsible for shooting the officer was inside the house," he said.
"The shots were fired from outside the house, into the doorway."
That individual was struck in the leg.
Two other officers grabbed the neighbor and rushed him to Temple Hospital. He has since been released.
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"When the officers were able to go into the back, they were able to locate the suspect who was suffering from what we believe is a self-inflicted gun shot wound," Naish said.
Police put him in their car, but while driving him to the hospital, a collision happened.
"There was an automobile crash. That happened near 10th and Oxford," said Naish.
"Both of the officers and the suspect were transferred to other vehicles and they were taken to Temple University."
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All are expected to be physically OK, but Naish said the suspect is expected to face many, many charges.
“Clearly this person had it out either to cause harm not just against police officers but against someone else — the homeowner — and then ultimately themselves,” Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said earlier Wednesday.
“These officers are doing what they’re trained to do. They run toward the danger. That’s what all of these officers here did," she added.
"And the crazy thing about it is they’ll get up and they’ll do it again.”
