Officer-Involved Shooting Leaves Man Critically Injured In South Philadelphia: Police
PHILADEPHIA (CBS) -- Police say a man was critically injured after an officer-involved shooting in South Philadelphia on Saturday night. It happened on the 2500 block of South 7th Street around 5:45 p.m.
The off-duty officer was visiting his friends when they heard glass breaking outside, police say. The officer and his friends went outside to find a man, believed to be 60 years old, breaking items from a recycling bin.
"I was right over here when it happened and I ran inside and then I went to go down and see what happened and I saw the guy laying on the ground," witness Mark Semerigoia said.
Philadelphia Police Staff Inspector Sekou Kinebrew says the officer approached the man, who produced a bladed instrument, later to be identified as scissors, and aggressed toward the officer.
Kinebrew says the officer identified himself as a police officer when the man lunged at him, swinging several times. The officer then discharged a privately owned semi-automatic 9mm handgun several times.
According to Kinebrew, the man was struck three times -- on the left side of his chest, left wrist and left leg. The man was rushed to Jefferson University Hospital, where he was placed in critical condition.
The officer is believed to have fired his gun four times, Kinebrew says. He called for backup after the shooting, according to Kinebrew.
Kinebrew says there's no identification on the man at this time. The officer was also not identified.
The officer is assigned to the 17th District with three years of service.
No one else was injured in the incident.
An investigation remains active and ongoing.
CBS3's Chantee Lans contributed to this report.
