Wall Street Journal - Philadelphia Gunman Taken Into Custody After Hourslong Standoff
The suspect shot and wounded six police officers.
By Talal Ansari and Scott Calvert
Updated Aug. 15, 2019 10:34 am ET
A suspect who shot and injured six Philadelphia police officers was taken into custody early Thursday morning, officials said, after a nearly eight-hour ordeal that included a gunfight and tense standoff in the northern part of the city.
All six of the wounded officers had been released from area hospitals by 10 p.m., police said. One had a graze wound to his head. Some additional officers were hurt responding to the scene, Police Commissioner Richard Ross said.
The incident began around 4:30 p.m., when police tried to serve a narcotics warrant at a house in the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood, he said. Officers who tried to serve the warrant were near a kitchen in the rear of the house when gunfire erupted, Mr. Ross said, adding that some officers jumped out the window to escape the barrage.
Throughout the evening, the shooter remained inside the home and periodically shot at police outside. A spokesman for the Philadelphia Police Department identified the suspect as Maurice Hill, but wouldn’t provide any additional information.
“We are trying to get him to come out peacefully, but right now he refuses to do so,” Mr. Ross said, speaking outside a hospital where he had visited three of the injured officers.
At one point, two police officers and three hostages who had been trapped in the building were safely evacuated by a SWAT team, Mr. Ross said. “Right now, we’ve gone from a hostage situation to a barricade,” he said.
Mr. Ross, wearing a bulletproof vest, said he personally tried to establish contact with the gunman, to no avail. Police tried to reach him by loudspeaker and by telephone, he said. The man fired shots while the commissioner was on the scene; bullets hit a SWAT truck and buildings across the street.
The commissioner said he assured the man he wouldn’t be harmed if he left the house. “Normally I wouldn’t even take this posture, but I’ve got police officers in a very volatile situation,” he said. It couldn’t be determined why the suspect finally surrendered.
Mr. Hill, 36 years old, has a lengthy criminal record, dating back to at least 2001, when he turned 18. Some of those previous charges against Mr. Hill include aggravated assault, drug possession and the illegal possession of guns, according to records obtained from the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.
The first call about the gunshots was made around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Broadcastify recording of the Philadelphia police dispatch.
About two minutes in, an officer says, “Shots still ringing out. Give me SWAT ASAP, long guns ASAP,” according to the recording. About 30 seconds later, an officer radios that another officer has been shot in the leg.
Dispatch responds: “I need long guns, SWAT…we have an officer shot, and they’re still being shot at.”
The suspect shot and wounded six police officers.
By Talal Ansari and Scott Calvert
Updated Aug. 15, 2019 10:34 am ET
A suspect who shot and injured six Philadelphia police officers was taken into custody early Thursday morning, officials said, after a nearly eight-hour ordeal that included a gunfight and tense standoff in the northern part of the city.
All six of the wounded officers had been released from area hospitals by 10 p.m., police said. One had a graze wound to his head. Some additional officers were hurt responding to the scene, Police Commissioner Richard Ross said.
The incident began around 4:30 p.m., when police tried to serve a narcotics warrant at a house in the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood, he said. Officers who tried to serve the warrant were near a kitchen in the rear of the house when gunfire erupted, Mr. Ross said, adding that some officers jumped out the window to escape the barrage.
Throughout the evening, the shooter remained inside the home and periodically shot at police outside. A spokesman for the Philadelphia Police Department identified the suspect as Maurice Hill, but wouldn’t provide any additional information.
“We are trying to get him to come out peacefully, but right now he refuses to do so,” Mr. Ross said, speaking outside a hospital where he had visited three of the injured officers.
At one point, two police officers and three hostages who had been trapped in the building were safely evacuated by a SWAT team, Mr. Ross said. “Right now, we’ve gone from a hostage situation to a barricade,” he said.
Mr. Ross, wearing a bulletproof vest, said he personally tried to establish contact with the gunman, to no avail. Police tried to reach him by loudspeaker and by telephone, he said. The man fired shots while the commissioner was on the scene; bullets hit a SWAT truck and buildings across the street.
The commissioner said he assured the man he wouldn’t be harmed if he left the house. “Normally I wouldn’t even take this posture, but I’ve got police officers in a very volatile situation,” he said. It couldn’t be determined why the suspect finally surrendered.
Mr. Hill, 36 years old, has a lengthy criminal record, dating back to at least 2001, when he turned 18. Some of those previous charges against Mr. Hill include aggravated assault, drug possession and the illegal possession of guns, according to records obtained from the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.
The first call about the gunshots was made around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Broadcastify recording of the Philadelphia police dispatch.
About two minutes in, an officer says, “Shots still ringing out. Give me SWAT ASAP, long guns ASAP,” according to the recording. About 30 seconds later, an officer radios that another officer has been shot in the leg.
Dispatch responds: “I need long guns, SWAT…we have an officer shot, and they’re still being shot at.”
 |
| Six police officers were wounded in a shootout in a North Philadelphia neighborhood known as Nicetown-Tioga. |
Temple University, whose Temple University Hospital borders the Nicetown-Tioga area, lifted a lockdown on its Health Sciences Center campus around 7 p.m. but warned people to avoid the area.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, said the shooting showed the need for gun-control measures.
“Our officers deserve to be protected, and they don’t deserve to be shot at by a guy for hours with an unlimited supply of weapons and an unlimited supply of bullets,” Mr. Kenney said as he stood in the rain at the evening press briefing. “We need to do something about it quick.”
President Trump on Thursday called for the shooter to receive a long sentence, saying he “should have never been allowed on the streets.”
—Erin Ailworth contributed to this article.
Write to Talal Ansari at Talal.Ansari@wsj.com and Scott Calvert at scott.calvert@wsj.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.