Three members of Philadelphia’s SWAT team were shot Wednesday morning while serving a warrant in the city’s West Poplar neighborhood, reports say.
A 19-year-old suspect fired at the SWAT officers through a window as the officers approached the front door of a home at around 6:30 a.m., AP News reported. The officers were allegedly attempting to knock on the door and serve a warrant at the home.
The gunman continued to shoot at the officers after they followed him when he tried to flee, according to the outlet. One officer took a bullet in the leg, another was struck in the hip and a third hit in the chest, ABC News reported, citing Philadelphia Police First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford. The SWAT officers then allegedly shot the suspect, and he was later pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital, according to CBS Philadelphia.
The suspect in Wednesday’s shoot-out was wanted for an August homicide and alleged participation in multiple armed robberies, Stanford said, according to ABC News. Stanford condemned the level of gun violence in Philadelphia, calling it “ridiculous,” the outlet continued.
“This should not be happening — this is not normal,” the deputy commissioner said, ABC News reported. (RELATED: Philadelphia DA Touts Pools As Solution To Violence Plaguing His City)
The massive gun battle that broke out on the residential street in West Poplar has left people in the neighborhood on edge. At least 30 evidence markers were left at the scene. @jpayoute reports. https://t.co/thJS3NTW7V pic.twitter.com/XclCMqC4Oq
— CBS Philadelphia (@CBSPhiladelphia) October 12, 2022
Stanford cited a lack of consequences as perpetuating gun violence across the city. “There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t either have a child that is shot, or multiple people shot, because there are too many people out here carrying guns and they don’t have consequences,” he said, according to the outlet.
A 13-year-old died after being shot multiple times in Philadelphia’s Ogontz neighborhood Monday night, ABC 6 reported. A neighbor who witnessed Wednesday’s shoot-out described the scene as sounding like a “war zone,” according to CBS Philadelphia.