Just before 3:00 a.m., police were called to the 100 block of Stroud Street, where an SUV had crashed into a house. Before officers could get the 23-year-old driver out of the SUV, he backed it out of the house and tried to escape.
Witness Bill Parks watched from a second floor bay window as the Saturn Vue smashed into the home and nearly a half dozen vehicles on the 100 block of Stroud Street.
"The cops came up and they told him 'shut it down, get out of the vehicle,' and he gunned it," Parks said.
After repeated warning, a officer was run over and several patrol vehicles were hit. This is when Parks and Wilmington Police say 5 officers opened fire.
"I shoved my wife on the floor when the bullets started firing; I don't like the idea of bullets flying," Parks said.
The suspect was hit several times. The man's name is not being released because he hasn't yet been charged.
"The suspect was provided with first aid by the officers on the scene until paramedics arrived, according to Christiana Hospital, where he remains in critical condition," Master Sergeant John O'Connor of the Wilmington Police Department said.
A woman, who doesn't want to identified, surveyed the damage late Sunday afternoon. Two of her vehicles suffered extensive damage, including a Chevy Camaro.
"This is frustrating because this is my baby; the tires and the rims are brand new," the woman said.
The police department's office of professional standards and the city solicitor's office are conducting the investigation.
The officers are on administrative leave pending the results of that investigation.
