At least two police officers sustained bullet wounds while responding to a shooting incident data resident in East Lansdowne in the US state of Pennsylvania on Wednesday (Feb 7). The officers were responding to a call that an 11-year-old girl had been shot inside the home.
Live footage of the scene showed the house engulfed in flames that was spreading rapidly. Meanwhile, the officers who were met with gunfire were reported to be conscious. They were being transported to Penn Presbyterian Hospital, according to local reports.
Notably, the firefighting efforts were severely hampered due to safety concerns as the shooter and the girl were believed to still be inside the burning house.
The emergency personnel as well as the SWAT teams arrived at the spot and whisked the neighbours out of harm’s way. Aerial footage taken using a helicopter showed the house ravaged to washed in less than an hour.
As for the injured officers, a witness said the shooter sprayed indiscriminate rounds of bullets when they arrived on the scene.
“I was there, a cop came flying around the corner. He got out and then he’s in front of the house talking to two people. And then all of a sudden I heard six or seven gunshots. Cops got down on the ground and I ran and took off,” Sharon Johnson, a crossing guard and witness told NBC10.
The other Upper Darby police officers managed to drag their injured colleagues out of harm’s way even as the gunman continued to fire.
“It was because of the Upper Darby Police Department who also responded to that call that these officers are alive today. They were dragged out of danger by Upper Darby police officers,” said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
(With inputs from agencies)
