An off-duty homicide detective shot and killed a man in Northeast Philadelphia
The shooting happened at around 11:30 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of Willits Road and Holme Avenue, police said. Officials have not said if the man was armed.
An off-duty Philadelphia homicide detective shot and killed a man Thursday night in Northeast Philadelphia, police said.
The shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. at the intersection of Willits Road and Holme Avenue, police said.
The 43-year-old detective was driving his personal car through the neighborhood when he and another driver, a 54-year-old man, stopped their vehicles in the middle of the street, police said. The 54-year-old got out of his vehicle and approached the detective’s car, and the detective, who was in the driver’s seat, shot his personal firearm multiple times, striking the man, police said.
The man, whom police did not identify, was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Officials did not identify the detective, a 14-year-veteran of the force.
Photos taken at the scene of the shooting showed one bullet hole through the driver’s side window of the detective’s car. Police did not say whether the decedent was armed, or what led to him stopping and approaching the detective’s car. Officials declined to provide additional information due to the ongoing investigation.
The department’s Officer Involved Shooting Investigations unit, Internal Affairs unit, and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office are investigating the incident. The detective has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome.
The 54-year-old is the 11th person to be shot by a Philadelphia police officer this year, and the fourth to be killed, according to city data.
An officer fatally shot 28-year-old Alexander Spencer in Fairhill in January, after police attempted to stop him inside of a deli and found he was armed with a gun. A scuffle erupted over the weapon, police said, and the officer shot Spencer.
The following month, an officer shot and killed a 36-year-old man after police said he attempted to flee a traffic stop, then struck the officer with his car and pinned him against a side wall.
Then, in July, an officer shot and wounded a man riding a dirt bike on the 2700 block of North Sixth Street after police said he pulled a gun.