Exclusive Look Inside Frankford Apartment Gunman Fired From, Striking SEPTA Police Officer Ervis Onuzi
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We have an exclusive new video of the shooting of a SEPTA police officer in Frankford. Only Eyewitness News is taking you inside where police say the gunman opened fire, and we also have viewer video from the very moment the officer was hit.
That officer was initially listed in critical condition. He's now stable.
Those who live in Frankford, where the gun battle happened, are calling him a hero.
"I hope he recovers quickly," Frankford resident Sharee Lewis said.
Twenty-eight-year-old SEPTA police officer Ervis Onuzi was shot in the stomach Wednesday night after covering another police officer from a gunman who police say had just shot two women.
"It's sad because they're out here to protect the citizens," Lewis said.
Neighbors say this is the apartment building where that gunman ran up to the second floor and started firing at officers.
A man who lives in apartment three didn't want to be on camera but says he was laying down when the suspect kicked open his door. You can see the busted door frame. The tenant was able to escape unharmed.
Police say the gunman fired through a second-floor window down below at officers. Viewer video appears to capture the moments Onuzi was struck.
Police exchanged fire. The bullet holes in this wall and shattered windows on the floor tell the story of the gun battle.
Panicked neighbors ducked for cover while hearing the barrage of bullets.
"Like pop, pop, pop," one resident said.
Initially, Onuzi was rushed to Temple University Hospital in critical condition.
His fellow men and women in blue cheered as Onuzi came out of surgery, showing over FacetTime he was going to be OK.
"It was everything. It just gave us all such a relief hence the cheering that we all did. We were just so glad to see that his eyes were open, he recognized that we were out there to support him and he gave us a gesture to kind of put us at ease even more. Again, that's the kind of guy he was," said Troy Parham with the SEPTA Transit Police Union
The officer is a three-year veteran of the department.
Police haven't yet said exactly what lead to the initial shootings of those two women but they were last listed in stable condition. One other person may have also been injured.
Police say the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
