PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The man accused of shooting two Philadelphia highway patrol officers early Sunday in the Northeast has been charged with attempted murder and assault on law enforcement. The suspect is no stranger to the criminal justice system — and one of the injured officers has been shot on duty before.
Dioul Devaughn, 40, has three prior convictions for gun offenses — in 2005 2006 and 2007 — and he has spent time in prison.
One officer, 31 years old, was grazed in the head and shot in the ankle, and the other, 32 years old, was grazed across the bridge of his nose during the encounter. The 31-year-old officer was already once traumatized by being shot in the head while on duty. A bullet fragment is still lodged in his skull from the incident.
During a bail hearing in April related to that case, the officer pleaded for the teenage defendant to remain behind bars because he has severe anxiety and PTSD, and is “always on the lookout.”
In that case, Judge Lillian Ransom reduced the defendant’s bail from $2.5 million to half a million dollars just last month.
In the case of the incident on Sunday, Devaughn is accused of shooting at officers 16 times after hitting their patrol car on Frankford Avenue near Welsh Road.
Officials say other officers arrived to assist and shot at Devaughn, striking him several times throughout his body. Devaughn remains in the hospital, in critical condition.
Authorities say a gun was recovered inside the truck he was driving.
Both injured officers have been released — and all are on desk duty pending the outcome of the full internal affairs investigation.