Timeline released in Philadelphia police officer shooting, barricade and suspect's arrest
Ramon Vazquez is being held on $12.5M bail.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Officials released a timeline Monday as a Philadelphia police officer continues to fight for his life after being shot in the line of duty over the weekend.
The officer, who is from the 25th district, has been in the ICU since Saturday night. His identity has not yet been released at the request of the family, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said during a press conference.
Ramon Rodriguez Vazquez, 36, has since been arrested and charged following the shooting, a massive manhunt and barricade situation. He is being held on a $12.5 million bail.
"This is senseless," Bethel said.
"We are outraged, we are heartbroken," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner added.
Timeline of events
Police said the timeline of events is mostly based on body camera video evidence.
Two officers conducted a traffic stop on a 2003 dark blue Toyota Echo around 7:18 p.m. on Saturday. The conversation is mostly in Spanish, according to officials.
The driver, who has since been identified as Vazquez, did not have a license and the vehicle was not registered, according to officials.
Initial reports said three other people were in the car at the time, but police clarified on Monday that Vazquez was alone at the time of the stop.
The officers then informed Vazquez that they were going to inventory the car and a Parking Authority tow truck was dispatched to the scene.
"What we do know now is that tow truck must have been very close because it was there within minutes," officials said.
During that time, Vazquez made a call to inform someone that he had been stopped and that the vehicle was going to be towed.
A short time later, two 33-year-old females and a 37-year-old male arrived at the scene in a separate vehicle.
The group remained at the scene during the course of the stop, which lasted roughly 30 minutes, police said.
The officers allowed Vazquez and the group to remove items from the vehicle before it was taken away.
At some point during the inventory of the car, one of the officers saw what appeared to be a holster on the floorboard of the car.
"He picks up the holster. He looks at the holster. He shows his partner the holster and then calls the offender to say, 'We have to talk to you,'" said Frank Vanore, Deputy Commissioner of Investigations for the Philadelphia Police Department.
At that point, police said Vazquez, was carrying some items he had taken from the car and put them down on the ground before taking off on foot.
The officer immediately chased after him.
"While he's in the middle of the street, without any provocation, he turns and fires three shots towards the officers," Vanore said. "We know now that his partner fired at least one shot during the incident. At that point in the video, you see the partner turns and sees that his partner is down."
The wounded officer's partner immediately begins to render aid. The tow truck driver then helps the partner get the injured officer into the patrol car before being rushed to the hospital.
"Our tow truck driver was very integral get him into the car and get him to the hospital so fast," said Vanore.
Police said the tow truck driver then stayed and guarded the scene until other officers could arrive.
After the shooting, police said video evidence shows Vazquez take off again on foot with a gun in his hand.
Vazquez then runs to a garage, located on G Street, where he is seen taking off a white shirt and is then seen wearing a darker-colored shirt that was underneath. Police said he then tried to get inside the garage but was unsuccessful.
He then takes off again toward G and Tioga streets. Vazquez then appears to try to carjack a passing maroon minivan.
"In our opinion, in watching the video, he pulls the door. He opens the door. It looks like he's attempting to take that vehicle over," Vanore said.
The driver was able to take off and Vazquez was never able to get inside the vehicle.
Police said they are working to find who was in the van and asks that the driver reach out.
"We'd love to talk to them. So, if someone is watching this who knows who that may have happened to, we are urging them to give us a call," Vanore said.
Vazquez then continues running. About 15 minutes after the shooting, Vazquez makes it to the 1800 block of E Schiller Street, where he sees a man sitting on a front stoop and forces him inside the residence at gunpoint, according to police.
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"At some point while inside, he permits that individual to leave," Vanore said.
That person is then able to get the attention of officers in the area and tell them of the situation at his house.
Police quickly descend on the resident and a barricade situation is declared.
"In a pretty short time, they are able to get him out of the house without any incident occurring, taking him into custody," Vanore said.
Police have served several warrants as part of the investigation, including at that property, and a Glock 26 9mm firearm was recovered, officials said.
Vazquez is facing a slew of charges in connection to both the officer shooting and barricade situation. Some of those charges include two counts of attempted murder of law enforcement, burglary, kidnapping and terroristic threats.
The two women and man who arrived at the scene on the night of the shooting have not been charged.
Sources tell Action News this is not the first time Vazquez has fired at police. Criminal records show in 2011 Vazquez fired on officers in Puerto Rico after an alleged carjacking.
