Cop wounded by suspect in shooting of 3

A Philadelphia police officer was shot in the shoulder at 22nd and Sansom streets last night by a man suspected of shooting three people at 15th and Sansom.

The officer, identified as Mario Santiago, 44, assigned to the Traffic Division, was rushed to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in guarded condition.

Police said they had reports that the shooter jumped into the Schuylkill from an embankment near the Walnut Street Bridge after being pursued by police, but it still could not be determined early today whether he was in the water.

Dozens of cops swarmed the scene, including officers who had been detailed to the presidential candidates' debate at Drexel University.

Cops lined the banks of the river and launched boats to try to find the man. Spotlights from a police helicopter illuminated the water.

Police Commissioner Syl-vester Johnson said Officer Santiago, an 18-year veteran, had been patrolling the area when the drama unfolded about 10:30 p.m. Johnson said two men and a woman had been in a car parked at 15th and Sansom when another car pulled up and a masked man began firing.

An employee of the Marathon Grill, at 16th and Sansom streets, said: "I just thought I heard something that sounded like a shot. I went outside and a gentleman was clutching his arm. I saw blood on the sidewalk."

The men who were wounded also were taken to Jefferson, in critical condition. Johnson said the woman had been grazed by a bullet.

The shooter sped off, and Santiago raced after him, Johnson said.

At 22nd Street, the cop caught up with the fleeing vehicle. The gunman crashed the car and jumped out, firing twice into Santiago's car, hitting him once in the left shoulder.

Johnson said Santiago, a married father of three, fired his weapon once and then chased the gunman on foot for a block and a half. Investigators found the gunman's weapon on Sansom Street near 24th.

A number of Center City streets were closed by police as investigators searched for the gunman, causing numerous traffic delays.