Internal Affairs Probing Police Shooting

Highway Patrol Images | Wikimedia Commons

A plainclothes police officer shot and critically wounded a man who allegedly pointed a handgun at them in North Philadelphia on Thursday night.

The incident began around 6:30 p.m., when the officer and his partner spotted a 22-year-old man — who they believed was a possible suspect in a shooting case — walking along 15th Street near Clearfield.

The officers emerged from an unmarked police car, identified themselves, and told the man to stop, according to the police department.

But the young man took off, police said, running through a trash-strewn lot, and allegedly pulled a .45-caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun from his waist. The cops chased him to a yard nearby Carlisle Street, where the man allegedly turned and pointed the weapon at them.

One of the officers opened fire, wounding the man in the lower back and both legs. He dropped his weapon and fell to the ground, police said.

The man, whose name was not released, was admitted to Temple University Hospital in critical condition. Police said he was wanted on one contempt of court warrant, and two absconder warrants.

Internal Affairs is investigating the shooting. The officer who shot the man will be placed on desk duty while the investigation unfolds.

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