Cops shoot man 'ready for war,' continue search for his partner

A police officer shot one of two suspects involved in the armed robbery of a Clifton Heights pharmacy last night and as cops continued their search for the man's partner today, officers discovered the duo had four guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a dozen wrist zip ties and a bulletproof vest between them, police said.

"These guys were ready for war," said Upper Darby police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.

Around 7:45 p.m., two armed men held up the Westbrook Pharmacy on Baltimore Avenue near Church Street and got away with about $30, police said. Witnesses were able to take down the license-plate number of the men's getaway vehicle, a dark-colored Nissan, Chitwood said.

A responding officer from Lansdowne tried to pull the vehicle over, but the driver took off and crashed the car into a pole at Long Lane and Locust Street in Upper Darby, police said.

The driver and passenger fled the crash on foot in different directions and the Lansdowne officer chased after the driver, police said. About a half block from the crash scene, that suspect pulled a loaded 9-mm handgun on the officer, who, in turn, fired his weapon three times at the suspect, hitting him once in the thigh, Chitwood said.

The suspect then dropped his weapon, was taken into custody and was treated for his injuries at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, police said.

"In my opinion, the shooting is 100 percent legit," Chitwood said. "The officer did a great job."

About a dozen police departments from across Delaware County responded to the scene to search for the missing passenger, he said.

Though that suspect remains on the lam, officers did find two fully-loaded weapons, a .45-caliber semi-automatic gun and a .38-caliber revolver, discarded in the front lawn of a house on Ashby Road near Walnut Street, Chitwood said. Police believe the discarded weapons belong to the missing suspect.

When police searched the robbers' abandoned vehicle today they discovered  a .38-caliber revolver in the back seat of the car along with several hundred rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest and a dozen plastic zip ties, which are used as handcuffs, Chitwood said.

Police have not yet released the name of the suspect in custody or his alleged co-conspirator, who remains on the run. Clifton Heights police are heading the robbery investigation while the Delaware County District Attorney's Criminal Investigation Division is heading the investigation into the police-involved shooting.