Cops: Officer wounds shooting suspect in Center City after police chase

Police stumbled upon a shooting in South Philadelphia Thursday night that eventually led to a police chase into Center City and one of the suspects being shot by an officer, authorities said.

Chief Inspector Scott Small said two officers were on patrol near 27th and Tasker streets around 10:15 p.m. when they came upon a crowd and saw a man in the group open fire. When the cops pulled up to investigate, three men – including the gunman – jumped into a car and took off, Small said, leading the officers on a pursuit through parts of South Philadelphia and Southwest Center City.

One of the men tossed a 9mm Beretta handgun out of the car on 27th Street near South during the pursuit, Small said. Cops recovered that gun.

The men led police to 24th Street near Locust, where they bailed out of the car, according to investigators. One of the officers then opened fire on the suspects, hitting one, a 21-year-old man, in the arm. Cops recovered a second handgun they believe that man had been carrying from the street there. He was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in stable condition, Small said.

Police also caught the other two men, and all three were in police custody early Friday morning.

Dropped by the suspects' car, police also found two bags of a heroin and a bag filled with small plastic bags of marijuana, investigators said. Nobody was hit in the initial shooting on 27th and Tasker, but police said a car struck by gunfire and other ballistic evidence was found on the block.