Cops: Police shoot gun-toting robber

A man who allegedly robbed another at gunpoint in Frankford early this morning was shot and wounded by a responding police officer, according to police spokesman Lt. Ray Evers.

Around 3 a.m., two uniformed cops in a patrol wagon were stopped at Frankford Avenue and Pratt Street by a 28-year-old man who said he was robbed at gunpoint by a man he knew as Bernard Rayford, Evers said.

The officers spotted Rayford and gave chase on foot for about a block to Frankford Avenue and Granite Street, police said. It was there that Rayford pulled a 9 mm Kel Tec handgun on the officers, inciting one of the cops to fire his weapon once and the other to fire twice, Evers said.

Rayford, 23, of Gillingham Street near Mulberry, was struck once in the left shoulder and was taken to Temple University in stable condition, police said. He was released late this morning and charged with robbery, assault on police and related offenses, Evers said.

His weapon was found at the scene and the victim did positively identify Rayford as the man who robbed him, police said.