President Trump: Gunman Who Shot Philly Officers 'Should Never Have Been Allowed To Be On The Streets'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - President Donald Trump is saying the gunman accused of shooting six Philadelphia police officers in an hours-long standoff "should have never been allowed to be on the streets." Trump took to Twitter Thursday morning to contend "the country must get tougher on street crime."
"The Philadelphia shooter should never have been allowed to be on the streets," tweeted Trump. "He had a long and very dangerous criminal record. Looked like he was having a good time after his capture, and after wounding so many police. Long sentence - must get much tougher on street crime!"
The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Maurice Hill, surrendered to police shortly after midnight Thursday following a standoff in the city's Nicetown-Tioga that lasted seven hours. All six officers struck by gunfire during the shootout have been released from the hospital.
According to court documents, Hill has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2000, including several gun charges as well as drug and assault charges.
The NRA echoed the president's statement.
"The criminal in Philadelphia had multiple felonies and should have been off the streets. In fact, he COULD have been in prison using existing federal gun laws," the NRA tweeted.
Earlier this year, Trump took to Twitter to criticize big-city prosecutors, including Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
He singled out prosecutors in Philadelphia and Chicago as being part of a "dangerous trend" by deciding not to prosecute "many criminals who pose a severe threat to public safety and community well-being."
Krasner fired back, saying the president is welcome to debate criminal justice reform with him.
"As a prosecutor, I'm used to being criticized by criminals. Donald Trump is invited to debate criminal justice reform with me in Philadelphia, where Police Department statistics show violent crime remains down 5% since we took office. Warning, Mr. Trump: We will be using facts!" Krasner said at the time.
