Investigation Underway After Bullets Strike Kensington Firehouse
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Bullets fly outside a Philadelphia firehouse and some slam through the windows and into the kitchen.
Fortunately, a lieutenant and three firefighters, who had just gathered in the kitchen for lunch, were not hurt, as they ducked for cover, bullets passing within a few feet of their heads.
"It's scary and although it doesn't happen often, it does happen," Joe Schulle, president of Firefighters Local 22 said.
It appears the gunman stood in the street, just outside the station housing Engine 25 and Medic 8, at Boudinot Street and Hart Lane in Kensington.
"The two men who were standing up, the bullets were literally within a couple feet of their head," Schulle said.
"Members immediately protected themselves. They immediately called for police," Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said.
Initially, some expressed concern that the firehouse may have been targeted for unknown reasons.
But late Thursday, investigators with the Philadelphia Police Department's East Detectives told Eyewitness News, they have determined that was not the case.
The investigation is ongoing but police say they now have reason to believe a shooting broke out and it happened to occur just outside the firehouse. Detectives believe the bullets that struck the building were stray bullets. Police say their search for the shooter or shooters involved is continuing and the motive behind the shooting remains under investigation.
