62 new charges filed against alleged gunman behind Philadelphia standoff
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Attorneys with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, spoke to the media after a judge set bail for over $4 million for Maurice Hill during his preliminary hearing on Thursday. Hill is the man charged with shooting six officers during an hours-long standoff back in August.
"I think the bravery of the Philadelphia Police Department was on full display today because you heard a number of officers talk about how they took fire, understood the gravity of the situation, left the home and then returned to retrieve Officer Parker who had been hit in the head," said Anthony Voci with The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.
Hill's family members didn't answer any questions from the media as they left the courtroom. During the hearing, many of the officers who were injured that day testified about the violence and relived the standoff that gripped the city and the nation.
"You fire that many guns and you empty that many clips and you do the type of damage that he did and you hit as many officers as he hit, with no regard for the value of human life, you don't have to be able to argue that case whatsoever," said Voci.
Prosecutors say Hill barricaded himself in a row home along the 3700 block of North 15th Street, in the city's Tioga-Nicetown neighborhood, and used an AR-15-style rifle and other handguns to open fire on police, as narcotics officers were serving a warrant.
Investigators say over 200 hundred rounds were fired, including the rifle. Police say five guns were recovered from the scene.
Hill is charged with attempted murder and a long list of other charges.
Unbelievably, that August standoff ended with no lives lost and the accused gunman surrendered after police used tear gas to force him out of the home. Prosecutors say he's now facing decades in jail.
"Any officer that was fired upon that afternoon, as far as we are concerned, is a victim of attempted murder," said Voci.
Moments after the preliminary hearing, the DA's office announced 62 new charges against Hill, for the dozens of other officers that were fired on during the standoff. His next court appearance is scheduled for January 2.
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