Suspect fleeing cops shoots self fatally

Khalil Burton lived fast and died young.

On a North Philly street early yesterday, amid the cold and windy predawn, the troubled teen suffered an agonizing death by his own hand, police said.

Burton, 18, shot himself in the groin when officers tackled him after a foot pursuit.

Just after midnight, police responded to a call of a person with a gun.

Officers spotted Burton, who fit the description of the armed suspect, at 13th and Cambria streets, police said.

Burton fled as officers tried to stop him. They chased him several blocks, tackling him on Broad Street near Glenwood Avenue. When Burton fell, his gun went off, police said.

Burton was rushed to Temple University Hospital, where he died at 4:56 a.m. Police retrieved the gun and had processed Burton on gun charges before he died, said Det. Justin Frank.

Burton, who lived on McKinley Street near Palmetto in the city's Lawndale section, had a history of fleeing police.

Last month, Norristown police reportedly chased - and eventually caught - Burton, finding nearly 100 bags of cocaine, worth $1,200, hidden in his buttocks area.

He was charged with drug dealing, prowling at night, resisting arrest and recklessly endangering police, court records show.