Two other officers were trapped inside the house during hours-long standoff

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A gunman who wounded six police officers has been taken into custody following a tense, hours-long standoff in Philadelphia that lasted late into the night.

At least one gunman opened fire on police Wednesday as they were serving a drug warrant in the city’s Nicetown neighborhood, injuring six officers.

The shooting began around 4.30pm as officers went to the north Philadelphia neighborhood of brick and stone row houses in an operation “that went awry almost immediately”, police commissioner Richard Ross said earlier.

Ross said many officers “had to escape through windows and doors to get [away] from a barrage of bullets”.

Eric Gripp (@PPDEricGripp) UPDATE: Suspect is in custody. SWAT is still clearing the house

What was described as a “potential hostage situation” later unfolded when two other officers were trapped inside the house for about five hours after the shooting broke out. Police confirmed the officers had been “safely evacuated” by a Swat team well after dark.

None of the officers’ injuries was considered life-threatening. Gripp tweeted late Wednesday evening that all officers had been released from local hospitals but that one officer was being admitted for injuries “sustained in a vehicle crash related to the incident”.

“I was just coming off the train and I was walking upstairs and there were people running back downstairs who said that there was someone up there shooting cops,” said Abdul Rahman Muhammad, 21, an off-duty medic. “There was just a lot of screaming and chaos.”

Shots were still being fired hours later, and officers returned fire. Police implored the gunman to surrender, calling him on the phone several times and using a loudspeaker to communicate, Ross said.

“It’s nothing short of a miracle that we don’t have multiple officers killed today,” the commissioner said earlier, adding: “We’re doing everything within our power to get him to come out … He has the highest assurance he’s not going to be harmed when he comes out.”

Nearby Temple University locked down part of its campus, and several children and staff were trapped for some time in a nearby daycare. Police tried to push crowds of onlookers and residents back from the scene. In police radio broadcasts, officers could be heard calling for backup as reports of officers getting shot poured in.

Dozens of officers on foot lined the streets. Others were in cars and some on horses.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said its agents responded to the scene to assist Philadelphia police.

Donald Trump and attorney general William Barr were briefed on the shooting, officials said.

Philadelphia’s mayor Jim Kenney said he was thankful that the officers’ injuries weren’t life-threatening. “I’m a little angry about someone having all that weaponry and all that firepower, but we’ll get to that another day,” Kenney said.





