Officer shot in Folcroft told dispatcher: 'I'm shot in the face'

The call to Folcroft police Friday morning came in like a standard report: A resident had spotted a drug deal on the 1500 block of Elmwood Avenue, and wanted an officer to check it out.

Christopher Dorman, a 25-year-old part-time officer who had just celebrated his one-year milestone with the department, responded to the call just before 10 a.m.

Within seconds, a run-of-the-mill crime became an ambush, one of the most horrific police shootings Delaware County authorities say they have ever seen.

Police say 33-year-old Donte Brooks Island - commonly known as Abdul Wahi - fired seven shots from a .40-caliber pistol as Dorman approached, striking the officer in the face through both cheeks, in his groin, in a leg, and four times in his chest.

"I'm shot in the face! I'm shot in the face!" Dorman shouted to dispatchers. The call, broadcast over police radio, captured more shots being fired and Dorman repeating, "I'm shot! I'm shot!"

After firing at two officers who arrived after Dorman was hit - and hitting neither - Island fled, launching a three-hour manhunt that drew nearly 200 officers from across the region and multiple armored vehicles to the tiny borough.

Around 1 p.m. Friday, authorities found Island hiding out in an apartment on the same block. For hours, police had driven armored vehicles up and down the block and evacuated homes, raiding apartment after apartment looking for him.

Island was arraigned Friday night on multiple counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault and faces a July 6 preliminary hearing.

Dorman was in critical but stable condition Friday evening after undergoing multiple surgeries throughout the day. He is expected to make a full recovery, Folcroft police announced on Twitter Friday night.

"This is a callous individual, he is a career criminal," District Attorney John J. Whelan said at a news conference Friday night at the Folcroft Fire Company station. "If we have our way ... he will never see the light of day again."

Police Chief Robert Ruskowski said Dorman grew up in Folcroft and long aspired to be a police officer. At 16, he joined Folcroft's fire company, volunteering mornings and nights throughout high school. Last June, he joined the Police Department. And this summer, he was in the final steps of applying to work for SEPTA Transit Police, Ruskowski said.

"He's the guy . . . that you don't want to lose," Ruskowski said. "That's how great he is."

Friends said Dorman picked up extra shifts constantly because he loved being a police officer. Around town, they said, everyone knew him.

"He just wanted to give back to Folcroft," said Vinny Ferraccio, 26, a Glenolden resident, who said he has been friends with Dorman since they were 6. "He is the funniest, goofiest guy; he was always just there. You know Chris was someone you could always count on."

Measuring less than two square miles, Folcroft Borough is not far from Philadelphia International Airport. One in five of its 6,500 residents lives below the poverty line. Certain spots - including the 1500 block of Elmwood Avenue, where the shooting took place - are known to be hubs for drugs.

Police say that's where Island lived after being released from a 15-year sentence in federal prison. Since at least 2001, court records show, Island has been arrested multiple times in Philadelphia and its suburbs for dealing drugs, illegally carrying a firearm, and engaging in disorderly conduct. Whelan said there was an active warrant for his arrest.

"I always saw him hanging around, coming in and out of apartments," said Tamika Dailey, 46, who lives on the block.

"I always knew there were drugs on this block, and I knew something would happen. But this, this is scary."

Island was being held at Folcroft police headquarters Friday. No attorney information was available.

cmccabe@philly.com

610-313-8113 @mccabe_caitlin

Staff writers Joseph Jaafari and Robert Moran contributed to this article.