“It’s absolutely incredible that she is here [alive]”, Philadelphia police commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said in a press conference held early Saturday. Sylvia Young was sitting in her police vehicle when a suspect opened fire, according to Fox 29 News.
Advertisement
Police said that a man, not yet publicly identified, approached a marked police auto late Friday and, without speaking, fired up to 15 shots at Sergeant Sylvia Young, a 19-year veteran of the Philadelphia force. Her gun was hit as well. Glenn fired 18 rounds at close range with a 9mm Ruger and fired into her service weapon twice, disabling it. Miller served 33 years on the Philadelphia police department, retiring as a sergeant, before joining the Penn PD.
In all, six people were shot by the gunman – including two injured officers and the 25-year-old woman who was killed, according to Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross.
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”.
The man was wounded, but the 25-year-old woman was shot seven times in the abdomen and was later pronounced dead at Presbyterian Hospital. “This was a horrific night”, the commissioner said.
Afterwards, the gunman fled and later began shooting into a bar, hitting one security guard in the leg. “I’m not a physician and so couldn’t speak to [whether the suspect was mentally disturbed]”, Ross said. Police believe Glenn acted on his own and not as part of a group. “This is a completely freakish situation”, Mr Ross said of the chaotic sequence of events in Philadelphia.
What was left to do was figure out what happened and why it happened. However, authorities did mention that Nicholas’ letter spoke of people being “doomed”.
Investigators found a “rambling” letter on the gunman’s corpse that, while somewhat incoherent, expressed anger toward the man’s probation officer and police in general.
He said police believe the gunman acted alone in the violent events, which he described as “completely weird”.
Police told reporters the sergeant heard as many as 15 shots. “Unfortunately, we may never know”.
This undated photo provided by the Philadelphia Police Department on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 shows Nicholas Glenn.
Advertisement
The dealership’s cleaning crew, the only people in the building at the time, spotted him hiding among the tires, the employees said. Inside, Ross said, police found more ammunition. His rap sheet also includes several drug-possession convictions. He was also charged in connection with a 2009 rape, but those charges were later dropped. Two occupants, a man and a woman, were hit in the chest.
