What to Know
- A man behind the wheel of a pickup truck died after getting into a shootout with Philadelphia police officers Wednesday morning, investigators said.
- The deadly shootout caused traffic troubles on nearby Roosevelt Boulevard.
- A witness described the about 20-minute shootout as "a small warzone."
A man believed to be in his 70s died during a shootout with Philadelphia police that shuttered Roosevelt Boulevard Wednesday morning.
Philadelphia police initially responded to a crash involving a Dodge Ram pickup truck just before 5 a.m. just off the Boulevard at Borbeck Avenue -- that's near Gary Barbera's on the Boulevard car dealership and Aldi -- in the Rhawnhurst section of Northeast Philadelphia, Philadelphia police said.
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The truck had two wheels on the sidewalk and two on Borbeck Street, Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said hours later. A patrol officer spoke to the truck driver -- a man believed to be in his 70s -- who said everything was OK.
"The officer returned to his patrol vehicle and began to drive away at which time he believed to hear two gunshots," Vanore said.
The officer then returned to the scene and took a tactical position behind the pickup, Vanore said. The officer then called for backup. Once those other officers arrived, a barricade situation was declared and the SWAT team was called.
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The SWAT officers "did experience more gunfire" after they arrived, Vanore said. Two of the SWAT officers returned fire toward the truck.
"We don't know, as far as, who struck who," Vanore said.
Medics were later called in a declared the man dead in the pickup truck, investigators said. A gun was found in the truck.
Vanore said that the truck driver "started throwing things from the vehicle" during the barricade. Some items could be seen outside the Ram truck, which had several bullet holes in it.
A witness told NBC10 the shootout lasted about 20 minutes and that flash bangs were used during the shootout.
"It was intense," Evan Crookham said, while noting he ducked for cover after hearing gunshots. "I have never experienced anything like that was pretty nuts. It was like a small warzone over there."
No officers were hurt. "They are very lucky today," Vanore said.
"Very relieved cause it could have been worse," Gary Barbera said, while noting the "amazing job" police did to limit injuries to any bystanders.
Police could be seen blocking traffic on the Boulevard as they surrounded the silver pickup. Later in the morning, they could be seen marking evidence on the snowy side of the sidewalk and street.
All lanes of the Boulevard and several side streets were blocked at one point. By 6:10 a.m., the southbound lanes of the Boulevard and some side streets remained blocked. By the afternoon, the southbound lanes reopened.
Investigators were looking at surveillance video in hopes of uncovering more details about the deadly incident. NBC10 obtained surveillance video that shows a police officer hiding behind a police SUV and later police officers surrounding the SUV.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
