2 Philadelphia police officers shot, suspect in custody

Two Philadelphia police officers were rushed to hospitals Saturday morning after a gunman shot them multiple times, officials said.

The shooting happened around 1 a.m. on the 100 block of North 52nd Street in West Philadelphia.

Officers received a call for a man armed with a gun on the porch of a home. When officers arrived, they approached and came under heavy gunfire, Commissioner Kevin Bethel said.

The officers were rushed into surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and no immediate word on their conditions was available.

Bethel described one officer as a 40-year-old father of two. He was shot three times. Another officer, a 33-year-old father of five, was shot 12 times, Bethel said.

After the initial gunfire, more officers were called to the scene and closed in on the suspect, who fired at the responding officers multiple times.

The suspect was eventually arrested after police pulled him from a tree and took him into custody.

Police recovered three guns from the scene — two handguns and a shotgun. One of the handguns had been taken from one of the officers who was shot, according to Bethel.

Mayor Cherelle Parker said the incident is a reminder of the dangers police officers face on the job, and urged the public to pray for the officers’ recovery.

“I want to be very clear, I am grateful for their service and the reason is because for nights like tonight. We think of them as law enforcement officers, but I see mothers and fathers sons and daughters, brothers and sisters,” Parker said.

We’re working to learn more on what led up to the shooting.

This is a developing story and will be updated.