A man and a woman are in critical condition after they were shot by a gunman who later barricaded himself in North Philadelphia Saturday night.
According to police, the shooting happened on the 2200 block of W. Lehigh Avenue shortly after 9:30 p.m.
When officers arrived on the scene, they observed a 22-year-old woman shot in the cheek, arm and leg and a 66-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his right arm. Both were transported to Temple University Hospital where they were listed in critical condition.
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Police later said a third woman was grazed by a bullet although her injuries were superficial.
The incident began when the gunman was walking along 22nd Street when three others attempted to jump him as part of a potential robbery or assault, police said. The man then pulled out a gun and began firing -- although none of his bullets struck the would-be attackers.
Instead, the gunshots struck three innocent bystanders, police said.
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Investigators said officers later observed the suspect run into an apartment building on the 2800 block of 22nd Street and barricaded himself inside with his wife and 2-year-old child.
A SWAT team was called to the scene and, over the next three-plus hours, a standoff ensued with negotiation attempts from SWAT, crisis intervention specialists and even the gunman’s family members, police said.
“We later learned, and what made this a bit problematic, was that the home on this block that he ran into was actually converted into three apartments and we would see lights going on and off on different floors, and we weren’t sure if that was the individual that had barricaded himself into the property or if there were other residents … in the house,” police said.
SWAT eventually breached the home around 1 a.m. after the gunman was sufficiently far enough from the wife and child, police said. The gunman was arrested and taken into police custody without incident.
“This became a situation where we exercised extreme caution and used as much restraint as we possibly could as we wanted to make sure that no one was injured during this negotiation and eventual arrest of the individual we were looking for,” police said.