PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A boy's father is dead, his uncle is badly hurt, and three police officers are in the hospital after a 911 response in the city’s Northeast on Wednesday ended in a shootout.
A preliminary investigation by police shows officers were responding to a home on Whitaker Avenue in the city’s Rhawnhurst neighborhood for a report of a person shot.
Acting Commissioner John Stanford says it started around 7 p.m. A boy around the age of 12 was playing a video game when an argument broke out between his father and his uncle.
“There is a shot fired inside of the location, what we believe at this point in time. At some point, the juvenile and the uncle retreat to the upstairs section of the house,” Stanford said.
Investigators believe the father followed them upstairs and shot the uncle. Someone made the call to 911. Then, police believe, the boy’s father went to the front of the home.
“When officers arrive, he immediately begins to fire upon our officers, striking two officers and one sergeant,” Stanford said.
Officers on scene returned fire, which killed the suspect, said Stanford.
“We go to these locations in these houses in these jobs to essentially try to fix these problems, find solutions for people. And again, that’s one of the dangers of the job. You just don’t know what you’re walking up on.”
The uncle was taken to the hospital, where investigators say he is in critical condition. All three officers were shot in their extremities — two in the leg and one in his hand — and all are considered stable.
The investigation is ongoing. Part of that is determining which officer or officers fired the shots that killed the suspect. Stanford said, at this point, investigators believe they came from two of the officers who were hit and another responding supervisor.