Keith Jones was going about his job as evening manager Tuesday at the Shoprite in Southwest Philadelphia, when he was called to the front of the store to deal with a commotion among customers.
Jones was told two women were being threatened in the parking lot by a man with what looked like a gun.
By the time Jones got outside, all he saw was the suspect riding away on a bike.
Then Jones says he heard a popping sound.
A few yards away, three police officers were eating dinner at a nearby Subway store and had already been alerted to what was going on by a witness.
Just before 7:00 p.m., the officers ran out, just as the 19-year-old suspect was biking toward them.
"The police officers confronted the male. He actually dropped the bicycle, he was reaching for something. They saw what they thought was a weapon. They asked him to drop it. He did not comply," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Cynthia Dorsey said.
Then one of the officers shot the suspect in the leg.
But the gun police say the suspect pulled was a fake, only officers didn't know that and felt their only option was to shoot first.
Investigators say they're thankful the ordinarily crowded lot was relatively empty and credit the two officers with a job well done.
The suspect is in stable condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Police say surveillance video shows the suspect went up to other women in the parking lot with the fake gun.
Anyone with information is asked to call authorities.
