What to Know
- A man died after being shot by a police officer inside a stranger's home in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia Wednesday morning.
- Police said the man darted into a woman's home after some type of altercation on the street.
- The man allegedly pulled a knife when confronted by a responding officer, police said.
An argument on a residential street in Philadelphia's Port Richmond section led to a fatal officer-involved shooting when a suspect took out a knife after darting into the house of a woman.
The shooting happened around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday on the 3500 block of Belgrade Street. The male suspect -- who had run into the home as the woman was leaving to drop off her 4-year-old granddaughter at school -- allegedly took out a knife after an officer followed him inside, which prompted the shooting, according to police.
"As my wife and my granddaughter were coming out, he pulled the door and ran in the house," said Tom Fitzmaurice, who was at work when the shooting occurred.
The officer was initially responding to a call of a fight on the street, Philadelphia Police Department Capt. Sekou Kinebrew said. When he arrived, he found multiple people confronting the man, Kinebrew said.
During the "commotion," multiple people started pointing to the suspect, saying, "That's him. That's him, officer," the captain said.
That's when a woman in a nearby home opened her door because she was getting ready to drop off a little girl at school. The suspect darted into the house and the officer followed him after confirming with the woman that the suspect did not live there.
The officer had taken out a stun gun and asked the suspect to show his hands, which he initially refused to do, Kinebrew said.
When he finally complied, Kinebrew said the man pulled out a knife, which prompted the officer to take out his gun.
The officer continued to issue commands, but the suspect "approached the officer aggressively," which prompted him to shoot the man once in the chest, Kinebrew said.
Other officers arrived and rushed the suspect to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police have not released the name of the suspect. It remains unclear exactly what he was accused of doing during the initial fight on the street.
The officer who fired the deadly round is described as a 16-year veteran of the force.
This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.
