Philadelphia police officer shot after being attacked by man with hammer, pickaxe
The shooting happened on the 5700 block of Overbrook Avenue.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A Philadelphia police officer was rushed to the hospital after he was shot while responding to a dispute between a landlord and tenant on Tuesday afternoon.
It happened on the 5700 block of Overbrook Avenue around 3:30 p.m. in the city's Wynnefield section.
According to Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, two police officers with the 19th District walked into the home and were immediately confronted by a 31-year-old male suspect armed with a hammer and a pickaxe.
Police say the suspect refused to drop the weapons and began walking toward the officers. That's when one officer, a 35-year-old man, deployed his Taser. The suspect was briefly subdued before he continued to attack the officer, the commissioner says.
"While the officer was on the ground, the offender then mounted the officer, sitting on top of him and struck him repeatedly with one or both of the weapons," said Outlaw.
She says multiple police officers then discharged their weapons, striking the unidentified suspect who later died at the hospital.
The officer who deployed his Taser suffered at least one gunshot wound to the leg. He is currently listed in stable condition at an area hospital.
"The good news is that he's talking, he's smiling, he's laughing, he's in good spirits. We do believe that he's going to have to have surgery," said Outlaw.
It's still unclear how the officer was struck by gunfire. Police say it doesn't appear the suspect was armed with a handgun.
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"All we know at this point is that the officer was struck during the confrontation. Obviously, as we speak to witnesses who are being interviewed right now, as we review body-worn camera footage, as the night goes on, we'll be able to tell as we gather evidence," said Outlaw.
The shooting happened just behind the campus of Saint Joseph's University.
"All of a sudden I heard, pop, pop, pop," recalled C.J. Donofry, a junior at the university.
"The three of us were walking up the hill right there when we heard the gunshots and we were kind of freaked out," added junior Carly Barton.
No other injuries have been reported.
The two officers who initially responded to the incident have been with the department for four years.
