A suspect in a police shooting standoff that left six officers wounded in Philadelphia was taken into custody early on Thursday (August 15). Ryan Brooks reports.
A suspect was taken into custody early on Thursday after a seven-hour armed standoff at a Philadelphia home in which six police officers were wounded in a barrage of bullets.
Police moved in about five hours into the standoff that began after the gunman opened fire on officers as they served a drugs warrant.
The suspect surrendered, hands held high in the air, local news broadcasts showed after midnight, and was taken into custody, police said.
SWAT teams were still securing the home after midnight, police spokesman Eric Gripp said. All six wounded officers had been released from hospital.
A SWAT team rescued two police officers and three civilians who were trapped in the house in the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood with the suspect, police said on Wednesday.
The suspect surrendered, hands held high in the air, local news broadcasts showed after midnight, and was taken into custody, police said.
SWAT teams were still securing the home after midnight, police spokesman Eric Gripp said. All six wounded officers had been released from hospital.
A SWAT team rescued two police officers and three civilians who were trapped in the house in the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood with the suspect, police said on Wednesday.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, citing police sources, identified the suspected gunman as Maurice Hill, 36, a Philadelphia man with a history of gun, drugs and assault convictions.
Attorney Shaka Mzee Johnson, who, court documents show, recently represented Hill, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
But Johnson told a local CBS affiliate that Hill called him around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, “in a panic”.
“I told him, ‘you gotta surrender man’,” Johnson told the news station.
The Philadelphia Inquirer also reported that police allowed Johnson to talk to Hill at the scene with a megaphone and telephone. He also approached the front door.
The incident followed deadly mass shootings in California, Texas and Ohio, in which gunmen used semi-automatic rifles.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said he was angry the gunman was able to amass such firepower.
“We’ve got to get these weapons out of people’s hands,” Kenney said after visiting wounded officers in hospital.
Reporting by Andrew Hay, additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Rich McKay; Editing by Richard Pullin and Alison Williams
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
