Police launched a manhunt early this morning for a man after they say a man he was with -- a suspect in a weekend homicide -- pointed a gun at officers.
The police search began after Philadelphia Housing Authority officers responded to the report of a shooting inside the lobby of a building at the Norman Blumberg Apartments near 24th and Jefferson Streets in North Philadelphia just before 3 a.m. Monday.
PHA police chased the man on foot as they called Philadelphia Police for backup. Those two housing officers along with a Philadelphia Police officer and an FBI agent in the area caught up with the suspect near a vacant lot along the 2400 block of Stewart Streets, according to Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
The man allegedly pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the officers and agent and possibly fired a shot. Police and the agent opened fire, striking the 31-year-old suspect four times.
That man, considered a suspect in a homicide from over the weekend, was rushed to Hahnemann Hospital where he remained in critical condition.
"We believe that there was s second male with the suspect that we had in custody," said Small.
That second man fled the scene towards Oxford Street. Police said that man is considered a person of interest.
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"He was running with the initial suspect we caught but we're not really sure what he was involved in," said Small. "However he is a person of interest just because he ran from police and he was with our suspect."
Police remained on the scene for hours after the shooting.
This was the latest police-involved shooting in the city. Shootings involving officers have been under scrutiny including an internal review.
Small said there is "strong" video evidence that the injured man was involved in the deadly shooting of a 23-year-old man shot multiple times along the 2900 block of Ridge Avenue in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city early Sunday.
Small said a witness already identified the injured man as the shooter from inside the PHA building Monday.
