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Man Firing Into Crowd Shot, Killed By Police Officers In Kensington, Police Say

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A man who was allegedly firing a gun into a crowd was shot and killed by police officers in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood. The shooting happened on the 3000 block of Water Street Thursday evening.

Chopper 3 was over the scene where a large police presence was on hand.

"This continues to speak to the gun violence that's going on every day in our city," Philadelphia Police Sgt. Eric Gripp said.

Police say two undercover police officers were in a silver Nissan at Water and Clearfield Streets in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, initially conducting a narcotics investigation.

Then, just before 6:30 Thursday night, a fight broke out on the street behind them.

"The fight was so chaotic, in fact, they were bumping into the officers' car. As they began to exit their vehicle to see if they could try to break up this fight, they saw an individual produce a handgun in the crowd," Gripp said.

That's when police say those officers identified themselves, pulled out their guns and approached the crowd.

According to law enforcement, the gunman fired two shots into the group and toward police, and a third shot was fired in the air. Those two officers then fired their weapons.

"They fired at least six shots. This male was struck once in the shoulder, once in the abdomen," Gripp said.

The man was transported to Temple University Hospital and was later pronounced dead.

Investigators are hopeful security cameras captured the incident.

As officers looked for evidence, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw arrived and was briefed about the incident.

Detectives are working to determine what started the initial fight before the gunfire erupted.

"It's just completely and totally out of control. We hear this all over the city. People are out just trying to enjoy a nice evening. Fights happen, we're never gonna be able to avoid that. But when someone produces a handgun, these are the things that that can happen," Gripp said.

The two officers are now on administrative leave pending an investigation.

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