On Thursday night, two off-duty police officers were shot at the garage of Philadelphia International Airport.
According to interim Police Commissioner John Stanford, one police officer died in the hospital, and the other officer was injured.
Philadelphia International Airport Shooting
According to Stanford, the officers were arriving at work as they were assigned to the airport area unit. They parked in the garage shortly after 11 p.m. when they confronted several people breaking into a vehicle in the parking area.
The suspect opened fire when the officers approached the vehicle. Stanford reported that the suspect fired several times in the upper body and the arm of the two officers.
The police reported that the suspect fled in a stolen Dodger Durango. The same car model left off an 18-year-old man with two gunshot wounds and was declared dead.
Stanford said that an 18-year-old man was similar to the suspect's description, but the investigators still have not confirmed the man's involvement in the shooting.
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Philadelphia Shooting Incidents
The information about the officers was not revealed. Howver, Stanford said the other one is 50 years old and had been with the force for 22 years.
According to Stanford, the dead officer was married and had one child. The other officer was injured and is now in stable condition. He is 60 years old and served in the police department for 20 years.
"They are here at the hospital, as you can imagine, heartbroken," Stanford said.
The airport's terminal D temporarily closed for further investigation, but was reopened later.
In another similiar incident, Stanford shared that three Philadelphia police officers were shot while responding to a home where people were arguing about a video game. Then, after a week, the two Philadelphia police officers were shot in the airport area.
"A numb, numb moment for us, to again encounter something like this," he said.
The department has lost many police officers in weeks, the department are all in agony. Stanford said he hopes there will be no more shootouts and death in Philadelphia.
The city also feels unsafe with the gunfires that resulted in the deaths of the officers. However, Stanford reassured to further investigate the shootouts in Philadelphia, and their department will do its best to ensure the safety of the citizens.
