Ross referred to the January 7 ambush shooting of Officer Jesse Hartnett, who was ambushed as he sat in his cruiser at an intersection by a man who investigators said told them he was “following Allah”.
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“This rambling suggests that he clearly was trying to target a police officer, as he did.so it just kind of makes it very clear to us what he was out there to do”, Ross said.
Ross reportedly said that Sgt. Sylvia Young, 46, was sitting in his cruiser at 52nd and Sansom when the gunman approached and began firing – all without saying a word. The unidentified man then grabbed a female patron and used her as a shield before shooting her in the leg as well, according to Ross.
Other officers who heard the shots responded to the scene and chased the man, who continued to shoot people during the chase. She was struck repeatedly but may have been saved by her bulletproof vest.
The shooter’s motives were not entirely clear, and police have not mentioned the race of anyone involved.
The university police officer was shot in the pelvis and the right ankle, police said, and he is in stable condition at a hospital.
A wild chase and shootout through the streets of Philadelphia on Saturday is now looking like a hate crime after a note from the attacker was found expressing hatred towards law enforcement.
Ross said two police officers and University of Pennsylvania police officer Ed Miller chased the man into an alley, where the suspect was shot and killed.
It was then that police cornered the man in an alley, where he was shot and killed, police said.
The wild night began at about 11:20 p.m. ET Friday, when Sgt. Sylvia Young was ambushed with up to 15 bullets fired at her patrol vehicle, said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross.
The circumstances of the shootings remained unclear early Saturday.
Police respond after a shooting spree in West Philadelphia late September 16. Police said the woman died and the man was in critical condition.
Later, she said: “We’ve got two people shot out here, also”. Neither officer was identified.
The shooting occurred not far from the Penn campus. The shooter was then arrested and told investigators he “acted in the name of Islam” and “pledged his allegiance” to Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL), US media report.
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Officers will be doing their patrols in pairs in response to the attack, the commissioner said.
