UPDATED: April 8, 2:39 p.m.
On Wednesday, police confirmed to KYW Newsradio that the suspect, who had been previously said to have died by suicide, was actually shot and killed by a law enforcement officer. You can read our latest reporting here.
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UPDATED: April 7, 11:06 a.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A gunman is dead after authorities say he shot a SEPTA Transit Police officer and two women in Frankford.
It happened around 7:10 p.m. Wednesday during a barricade situation near Leiper and Arrott streets, blocks away from the Arrott Street stop on the Market-Frankford Line.
Philadelphia Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Eric Gripp said officers were on patrol near the scene when they heard multiple gunshots. Two women, ages 57 and 42, were shot in their hips.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man with a handgun and chased him into an apartment building. The man shot at officers while being chased.
Gripp said the shooter then fired at Philadelphia police and SEPTA officers from the second and third floors of the building.
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Officers eventually gained entry into the building, where they found the gunman dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Amid the chaos, a 28-year-old SEPTA SWAT officer was providing cover for a Philadelphia police officer, who was pinned against a wall, and was shot in the abdomen. He had surgery at Temple University Hospital and is now recovering.
Afterward, he FaceTimed with fellow officers outside the hospital, who cheered at the news that he was out of the surgery.
“He drew his assault weapon and charged forward,” recounted SEPTA Transit Police Chief Thomas Nestel. “Doesn’t matter the patch they wear and the badge that’s on their chest. Police officers do this stuff when their brothers and sisters are in danger.”
The SEPTA officer, identified as Ervis Onuzi, is a three-year veteran of the department.
The two women who were also shot were taken to the hospital and are now in stable condition.
Investigators combed through the apartment building and found at least 50 shell casings on the ground. Some residents were temporarily displaced, as their apartments were part of the taped-off crime scene.
Gripp condemned what became another night of senseless gun violence in Philadelphia.
“Here we are again, another night in our city and just this completely and totally unacceptable and reckless gun violence nearly took three innocent people’s lives.”
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