A gunman shot a Philadelphia police sergeant in an ambush late Friday and then went on a shooting rampage that left three people and a University of Pennsylvania police officer wounded and a woman dead before he was killed, authorities said
(FOX)- Philadelphia police commissioner Richard Ross Jr. told a press conference early Saturday that two shooting victims were in critical condition, while the law enforcement officials were in stable condition.
Officials did not disclose the suspect’s motive or his identity. However, Fox29 reported that a note written by the suspect expressed hatred of police officers.
The shooting happened at around 11:20 p.m. in West Philadelphia, a few blocks from the University of Pennsylvania campus.
Ross said the violence began when the suspect approached Sgt. Sylvia Young, a 19-year veteran of the force, as she sat in her police car and opened fire. The commissioner said that Young was shot up to eight times and some of the shots were deflected by her bulletproof vest.
“It is absolutely amazing that she is here [alive],” Ross said, adding that the suspect did not say anything before he opened fire.
Officials said the suspect fled, then shot into a nearby bar. Ross said two people were injured there–a bar security guard who was shot in the left leg and a woman who the suspect used as a human shield before shooting her in the leg.
As police gave chase, Ross said the suspect fled again and shot into a nearby car, striking a man and woman in the chest. Police say the woman died and the man was in critical condition.
At that point, Ross said the suspect was chased into an alley by two police officers and 56-year-old Eddie Miller, a retired cop who is part of the University of Pennsylvania police force. Miller was wounded.
The gunman was shot and killed in the alley.