Man killed by police after 2-hour standoff in Bensalem
The 30-year-old man was shot by SWAT officers after he pointed a gun at police following a car chase and two-hour standoff at Bristol Pike near Biddles Lane, according to authorities.
A 30-year-old man was fatally shot by police after a car chase and two-hour standoff Friday night in Bensalem Township, said William McVey, the township’s director of public safety.
Shortly before 4 p.m., Bensalem police stopped a car at Route 1 and Old Lincoln Highway for a suspected window-tint violation, police said.
“During that encounter, there were two occupants in the vehicle, they were noncompliant, refused to provide any information to police, and also advised that they were armed and would not be going back to prison,” McVey said at a news conference. He did not provide details on any prior criminal record for the two.
After about 45 minutes, the car took off and Bensalem police began a pursuit that led through several jurisdictions, assisted by the Pennsylvania State Police, McVey said. It ended outside a Liberty Gas Station on Bristol Pike near Biddles Lane.
There were several collisions involving police vehicles before the car was stopped and completely surrounded by police vehicles, McVey said.
“After approximately two hours of negotiations to get these individuals to surrender, gas was deployed two times, at which point the driver produced a handgun and was fired upon by our SWAT team,” McVey said.
The driver was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said in a statement posted to Facebook early Saturday morning.
The passenger was not injured and was taken into custody, McVey said.
Police did not release the identities of either person.
The SWAT officers came from the Philadelphia Police Department, McVey said.
The driver had pointed his gun at police but was unable to fire any shots, McVey said. No officers were injured, police said.
Bensalem police said they have placed the officers involved in the shooting on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
McVey commended the officers at the scene for handling the situation “as safe as they could.”