Two police officers shoot at N. Philly robbery suspect; no one hurt
Two officers opened fire on a robbery suspect whom they saw trying to shoot a man in North Philadelphia on Saturday night, but no injuries were reported as a result of the gunfire, according to police.
Two officers opened fire on a robbery suspect whom they saw trying to shoot a man in North Philadelphia on Saturday night, but no injuries were reported as a result of the gunfire, according to police.
The events began when a 20-year-old man on the 2900 block of North Front Street in the city's Fairhill section was approached by a 27-year-old man with a gun around 10:20 p.m., police said.
The victim handed over his wallet and cellphone to the armed man and then took off running but the robber fired at him anyway, according to police.
Two officers on patrol nearby saw the robber shoot at the fleeing victim and stopped their vehicle, authorities said.
The officer in the passenger seat of the patrol car got out of the vehicle and fired at the suspect while the officer driving the car stayed in the vehicle and shot at the suspect "through the windshield, while still seated in the driver's seat of the patrol car," police said in a news release.
The robbery suspect then turned toward the officers, who said they saw a "muzzle flash" from his gun, police said.
The officer who was on foot fired again at the suspect, who fled west on Tusculum Street then north on North Waterloo Street before the officers lost sight of him, police said.
The suspect was arrested shortly afterward by officers in the area and identified by the robbery victim, police said. Authorities have not recovered a weapon from the man and his identity has not been released. He is expected to be charged with robbery, aggravated assault, and related offenses.
Police said there were no injuries to the suspect, the robbery victim, and both officers.
The two officers have been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an investigation by the department's Internal Affairs Unit.
The shooting is the 20th time this year that a Philadelphia police officer has shot at a suspect, according to the department's website. Four of those shootings resulted in the death of the suspect and seven resulted in gunshot wounds to the suspect. In four of the cases, five officers suffered gunshot wounds.
There were 23 officer-involved shootings in 2015.
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