OAN’s Avril Elfie
5:05 PM – Wednesday, February 7, 2024
In East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, two police officers were shot and injured outside a home, which quickly ignited a fire.
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Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told reporters that authorities responded to a report of a shooting involving an 11-year-old female victim at Baltimore Pike and Lewis Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. .
Stolsteimer also told reporters that officers arrived at the location where they came face-to-face with the gunman, who was still inside the home but suddenly started running. He then immediately opened fire on both officers.
“I was there, and the police came flying around the corner,” said Sharon Johnson, a railroad crossing guard who witnessed the shooting. NBC10. “He went outside and was talking to two people in front of the house. And all of a sudden I heard six or seven gunshots. The police came down to the ground and I ran away. ”
Additional responding Upper Darby police officers pulled the two injured officers to safety as the gunman continued to fire, investigators said.
“The reason these officers are alive today is because of the Upper Darby Police Department who answered that call,” Stollsteimer said. “They were pulled from danger by Upper Darby police officers.”
As more officers arrived on the scene, smoke and flames came from the home where the shooter was living, and a fire broke out.
An entire neighborhood block was cleared as additional police, firefighters and SWAT teams arrived on the scene.
“The officers were firing shots,” Stollsteimer said. “The police and fire departments that were on the scene, there were still gunshots going off at the beginning of this fire scene.”
Initially, firefighters were unable to battle the rising flames due to an active shooter situation.
However, the gunman reportedly ran back inside the house and the gunfire stopped. By 6 p.m., firefighters had successfully extinguished the fire and although smoke still remained, the fire was “mostly extinguished.”
The first two officers to arrive on the scene were immediately taken to hospital, where they are currently in stable condition.
At a subsequent press conference, Stolsteimer expressed uncertainty about whether the gunman remained inside the home or fled.
“We’re not going to go into that home until the fire is out and it’s safe for officers to go in there,” Stolsteimer said. “We don’t want another officer injured in Delaware County tonight.”
Both of the injured officers have 22 years of experience serving the community in the police department. Officials say it remains to be seen whether initial accounts that the 11-year-old was shot to death are true.
The investigation is ongoing and police and firefighters are still on scene.
This is a developing story. Please check the latest information.
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