UPDATED 9:50 a.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police say an undercover cop dodged at least bullets Tuesday night while sitting in his car in the Kingsessing section of Southwest Philadelphia. Now police are looking for a man considered to be armed and dangerous.
Just last week Thursday, someone shot at two undercover cops in North Philadelphia. This time it was at 59th Street and Kingsessing Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia.
Chief Inspector Scott Small says it happened around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. A man pulled out a gun and fired eight shots across the street at an undercover cop who was doing surveillance in an unmarked car.
"He was sitting in the driver's seat, so he was very, very lucky that he was not struck by gunfire," Small said.
The officer drove half a block to get away to call backup after his car was hit twice.
Meanwhile, the gunman ran off.
Police set up a perimeter around the area, but they had no luck finding the gunman. They say the man was able to cover his face well with a hoodie.
"We took every precaution going in looking for him including using our SWAT personnel to make sure they were properly equipped in the event they would come in contact with him," Acting Commissioner Christine Coulter said Wednesday morning.
Someone fired at least 8 shots at an undercover @PhillyPolice officer in SW Philly last night. The officer wasn't hurt and the gunman got away. The update this morning from @PPDCommish pic.twitter.com/zLQOwRCWGu
— Tim Jimenez (@TimJRadio) September 4, 2019Investigators have a good idea of who the shooter is. They describe him as a person of interest and say he is armed and dangerous.
Coulter said she doesn't think the shooter knew he was aiming at a cop.
"I don't know what prompted him to shoot at that person, but there's no indication at this time that they knew that he was a police officer," she said.
Investigators believe he may be connected to a drug-related murder that happened last Friday, but they have not released any information about his identity.
This is the third time in the last month that police say officers have been shot at.
"Certainly highlights how dangerous the job is," Coulter said. "Whether they know you're a police officer or not, you're putting yourself in harm's way when you're out doing investigations."
