Authorities say a gun-wielding hit-and-run suspect who shot at an officer after a chaotic car chase near the King of Prussia Mall was arrested and charged Monday with attempted murder of a police officer.
Andrew Wiley, 27, of Philadelphia, faces multiple felonies after using a “ghost gun” to fire upon an Upper Merion police officer in the parking lot of the Seasons 52 restaurant on mall property Sunday afternoon, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office said.
The public shootout happened at the height of holiday shopping. The suspect told police he had come to the mall to do some shopping himself before he crashed into another car in the parking lot.
Upper Merion Township police said the situation began around 2:30 p.m. in the Green Deck of the mall's parking garage, when a bicycle officer spotted the red 2015 Nissan Juke that police suspected was involved in the earlier hit-and-run crash. At first, the officer didn’t see anyone in the front seats and couldn’t see into the back due to heavy window tint. Then while watching the vehicle, he saw Wiley exit the backseat and get into the driver’s seat.
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Wiley later admitted to ignoring the officers commands to stop, prosecutors said. "The bicycle officer warned Wiley 'don't do it' which Wiley knew meant not to drive off," the criminal complaint states.
Police said Wiley took off at highspeed and tried to exit the mall's property on Mall Boulevard near North Gulph Road before getting stuck in traffic.
Upon seeing a police cruiser in the rear view mirror, Wiley told detectives he thought, "****, I got to get out of here."
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He then attempted to get away by driving off a four-foot ledge into the parking lot of the Seasons 52 restaurant, police said, which disabled his car.
As the police officer approached the Nissan, Wiley fired at him three to four times with a 9mm Glock-style handgun, authorities said. The officer then returned fire.
According to authorities, the suspect was shot at least twice in the exchange. He was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while the officer was not struck and was uninjured, police said.
"The actions of the officer in this case were heroic," Upper Merion Township Police Chief Thomas Nolan said at a press conference. "It’s a miracle that the officer was not injured, and that we don’t have a worse situation."
In the hospital Wiley told detectives that one of his gunshot wounds was from accidentally shooting himself while attempting to grab his handgun inside his car. The district attorney’s office said the weapon was a “ghost gun,” lacking a serial number, that Wiley had purchased in Philadelphia for $600.
Wiley told detectives he went to the King of Prussia Mall to shop because “he was depressed and he likes to shop when he’s depressed,” the criminal complaint reads. He said when he got into the crash, he panicked because he doesn’t have insurance.
Wiley was charged Monday with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and several other offenses, including weapons charges. His bail was set at $5 million.
