“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.
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But “we have no reason at this point to believe” Friday’s shooting “is related to any beliefs of a religious nature or anything like that, just feelings about police departments and police officers in general and probation officers”, said Ross, the police commissioner.
“She didn’t hear him say a word”, he said, adding that she was struck eight times in the arm and chest, but survived because she was wearing a protective vest.
Around 11:45 p.m., in an alley at 48th and Sansom, a University of Pennsylvania police officer and two Philadelphia police officers cornered the man, shooting and killing him during a brief gun battle, Ross told reporters.
The wild chase and shootout through the streets of Philadelphia began about 11:20 p.m. Friday when Sgt. Sylvia Young, a 19-year police veteran, was ambushed while sitting in her patrol vehicle in west Philadelphia; she was shot a number of times in the arm and protective vest, Ross said.
The identities of the suspect and those who were killed or injured is still being investigated.
Authorities chased the shooter into an alley – where he was shot and killed.
He then used a woman from the bar as a shield before shooting her.
In January, a gunman in west Philadelphia shot and wounded an officer sitting in his police vehicle. The man remains in critical condition.
“We have a lot of unanswered questions.this is a completely freakish situation”, he said.
In a “rambling” letter police found, the man, who was fatally shot by police, “indicates his hatred for police officers and probation officers”, Police Commissioner Richard Ross said, . “This is a completely freakish situation”.
As the shooter ran, he fired shots into a bar, wounding a security guard, according to Philly.com.
Two police officers and three others – two men and a woman -also were wounded, CNN reported.
This story has been corrected to show the suspect wounded three civilians, not five. She was transported to Presbyterian Hospital and is in stable condition. The neighbourhood where the shootings occurred is diverse, but predominantly African-American.
Police earlier said a suspect was in custody, but media outlets are reporting a suspect was shot and killed.
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“Be advised, we need a medic”, one officer says.
