Philadelphia police officer wounded in shooting; several suspects arrested

Several suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting that wounded a Philadelphia police officer Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

Officials said the officer was shot at least twice after pulling over a vehicle shortly after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in West Philadelphia and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford said the officer approached the passenger side of the vehicle and a struggle ensued with a passenger who opened fire, hitting the officer in the abdomen just under his vest.

Police said another officer returned fire and the suspects fled. The other officer transported his partner to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

Stanford said one bullet appeared to have gone in and exited, and medical personnel were trying to determine what kind of damage may have been done by the second bullet.

In a news briefing Wednesday night, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said that it “sounds like” the wounded officer is “going to be okay.” Outlaw would not immediately release his name.

Outlaw said a car carrying three people was later stopped by police, and two of the three passengers —a man and a woman— were taken into custody in connection with the shooting investigation. They were not identified. 

In her briefing, Outlaw said that investigators were searching for a third suspect. However, police later confirmed to CBS Philadelphia that the third suspect was arrested by a SWAT team in a Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood. 

Outlaw also disclosed that investigators had located the vehicle the suspects were riding in at the time of the shooting. 

“We do have a vehicle; we believe that it is the vehicle that was stopped by the officers at the time of the incident,” Outlaw told reporters, but would not provide details on how the car was located.  

On a message posted on Twitter Wednesday night, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney thanked police for “quickly apprehending” suspects in connection to the shooting. 

“Our first responders put themselves in harm’s way every day to serve our residents,” Kenney wrote. “We are forever thankful for their service and sacrifice.”