Police say a Philadelphia school safety officer was shot several times near Penn’s Landing and is in critical condition.
Just before 2 a.m. on Sunday, police went to the 300 block of North Christopher Columbus Boulevard and found a 68-year-old man inside his School District of Philadelphia guard car. Officer DF Pace of the Philadelphia Police Department says the person was shot in the face, arm, and body.
Based on what we know so far, Pace said, “this incident may be linked to a previous incident on I-95, which was a road rage incident.”
Pace says that two other cars were involved in the road rage incident. A black Dodge pickup truck driver said that a white Hyundai driver pointed a gun at them. Next, the pick-up driver got off the highway and onto Columbus Boulevard, where he or she flagged down the school safety officer to state the facts.
“That’s when the person in the Hyundai opened fire on the police officer, who was trying to look into what was going on or help in some way.” “That’s what we think will happen,” Pace said. “From what we know so far, it does look like the two events are linked, and it does look like the person who pointed the gun at the driver also did the shooting.”
Officials from the Philadelphia School District stated that the victim worked overnight at Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, which is being used as a shelter for people who were affected by a recent apartment fire.
He spent 28 years as a police officer in Philadelphia and retired. NBC 10 reported that he has been with the school district for almost 20 years.
Pace said the driver who pulled over for the cop was from out of state and might not know how the local police work.
“It’s possible that they thought the Philadelphia police car was a school resource or safety officer car, or they might not have known the connection,” he said.
Ahkeem Carter from Philadelphia said he saw the police tape right away when he went to the Penns Landing area on Sunday, which is where the shooting happened.
“It’s terrible.” Carter said, “We need to do better around here.”
Other drivers’ anger on the road is something he has sadly seen, he said.
“All the time.” “That’s how things are in Philadelphia,” he said. “Things are fine here.” I can’t say what’s going on elsewhere, but everything is fine here.
As of right now, no one has been caught.
The Philadelphia Police Department wants anyone who knows anything about this killing to call the killing Investigation Group at (215) 686-8270.
You can call or text our PPD’s tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477) to give information without giving your name.
