Camden County police reach out to the community where an officer was shot
CAMDEN, N.J. (WPVI) -- Camden police reached out Thursday night to the community where an officer was shot just 24 hours before.
"Rather than going out there with a strong show of enforcement, we're out there coalescing, we're handing out ice cream, playing with the kids," said Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson.
It is a stark contrast from the flashing lights and yellow crime-scene tape that filled Phillips and Chelton streets just one night prior.
21-year-old Camden County Police officer Patrick O'Hanlon was shot at point-blank range, following a short foot chase in the city's Centerville section.
Camden County authorities have identified the shooter as 19-year-old Delronn Mahan of Lindenwold.
"He's a bad guy," said Thompson. "We do believe him to have gang-related ties."
Mahan has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons offenses. Thompson said Mahan had already three felony convictions and had been arrested nearly a dozen times.
Mahan was taken to the Camden County Correctional Facility pending a pretrial detention hearing.
The shooting happened around 10:15 p.m. near 9th and Chelton streets.
Authorities said the first-year officer, identified as Patrick O'Hanlon, approached three men that he considered suspicious. As he walked toward them, police said one of the men ran from the scene.
A short chase ensued.
O'Hanlon caught up with Mahan and that's when they began to struggle.
Thomson said Mahan pulled out a gun and shot O'Hanlon at point-blank range.
The bullet, police said, went through his thigh, missing bone and arteries, but hitting a main vein.
"We believe that the gun jammed because it was so close to the officer's body and the officer had also grabbed the gun, which it being a semi-automatic firearm, a .9mm, it was not able to properly cycle through, which was extremely fortunate because it appears the suspect tried to shoot the officer a second time in the face," Thomson said.
The gun did not go off again, and Thomson said the officer was able to wrestle the gun away.
Fellow officers responded and arrested Mahan.
They applied a tourniquet to the officer's leg and he was then taken Cooper University Hospital.
"The trauma doctor had advised us that if not for the tourniquet, and if not for the rapid response to get him to trauma as quickly as they did, his situation would be much worse," Thomson said.
Thursday afternoon, Camden County police tweeted a photo of Officer O'Hanlon giving a thumbs-up. The tweet calls him a "hero cop."
"It's nothing short of heroic, the way the officer responded to the situation," said Thomson. "The way his fellow officers responded to the situation, even up to the point of the investigation at this point in time."
O'Hanlon remains at the hospital in stable condition. Thompson said the prognosis looks good.
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