Currents News Staff
A tense and dangerous scene played out in a North Philadelphia neighborhood on August 14 when police and SWAT tried to reach a man who had barricaded himself in his house with several hostages.
What began as officers serving a narcotics warrant turned into a chaotic shootout inside the suspect’s home.
Six officers were injured during the eight-hour long gun battle that ended with five rescued hostages, and the suspect being taken into custody.
“I have to admit, I did not think this guy would come out alive He was indicating he was not going back to prison, so he was not coming out alive,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross.
Officers were diving out of windows and doors to escape. All six were later released from the hospital.
“I thank God for these cops. They’re good people. Don’t say nothing bad about them,” said one hostage.
“They kept us safe the whole time. The whole time, they kept us safe, by permission of God.”
Philadelphia’s mayor spoke during the ordeal, and blasted the federal government for not being more proactive on gun control.
“Our officers deserve to be protected and they don’t deserve to be shot at by a guy for hours with an unlimited supply of weapons and an unlimited supply of bullets. So it’s disgusting, and we gotta do something about it. We need to do something about it quickly,” said Mayor Jim Kenney.