by VOA News
Police in the U.S. city of Philadelphia arrested a suspect early Thursday after an hours-long standoff that left six officers with gunshot injuries that were not life-threatening.
A spokesman said after police took the suspect into custody, officers worked to clear the house in the city’s Nicetown neighborhood where the gunman had barricaded himself. The gunman was identified as Maurice Hill, who is reported to have had a long criminal record of drug-related offenses.
The situation began Wednesday when an officer went to the address to serve a warrant.
Two police officers were trapped inside the house with the gunman for more than four hours before being safely evacuated.
Authorities attempted to communicate with the gunman, including making multiple phone calls, but said that while he did answer the calls, he did not say anything.
The police spokesman said all six officers who sustained gunshot wounds had been released from local hospitals by late Wednesday. One other officer was admitted for treatment of injuries that came in a vehicle crash related to the barricade situation.
The shooting prompted a lockdown at the nearby Temple University Health Sciences Center Campus. “Secure doors. Be silent. Be still. Police are responding,” the university tweeted.
Lockdown is in effect for Health Sciences Center Campus. Seek shelter. Secure doors. Be silent. Be still. Police are responding.
— Temple University (@TempleUniv) August 14, 2019
President Donald Trump said on Twitter that the shooter “should never have been allowed to be on the streets. He had a long and very dangerous criminal record.”
