Philadelphia Officers Shot 15 Times in Ambush; Suspect Hid in Tree

Two Philadelphia police officers were hospitalized after being shot early Saturday while responding to a call in the western section of the city.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at a news conference that one officer, a 40-year-old parent of two, was shot three times.

The second officer, 33 and the parent of five children, was struck by 12 bullets, Bethel said.

“I am so damn proud of the men and women who serve in this department. Consistently, they go into danger, and they give their lives for this job,” Bethel told reporters. “And so we ask for those prayers, and we ask for you to support our men and women out there, and what they give for this profession.”

The officers were dispatched shortly after 12:20 a.m. to 140 North 52nd Street after police received a report of a man with a gun on a porch, according to Bethel.

They arrived roughly 30 minutes later and encountered “significant gunfire” after reaching the porch.

Additional officers and a SWAT team soon reached the scene and found the two responding officers wounded on the porch, Bethel said.

The suspect also opened fire on two other officers, Bethel said. SWAT officers later found the man in a tree and took him into custody.

The wounded officers were transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center for surgery. Their conditions remained unclear.

“We are praying now that our officers make it through this terrible situation,” Bethel said.

According to local outlet WPVI, the suspect allegedly ambushed the officers by running through an alley and firing at them.

Bethel said the suspect, whose name has not been released, was carrying two handguns and a shotgun. One of the handguns belonged to one of the wounded officers.

The Philadelphia Police Department did not immediately respond to News Media’s request for comment.