Philadelphia police shoot, kill suspect after standoff off Roosevelt Boulevard in Rhawnhurst
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia SWAT officers shot and killed a man after shots were fired near a Northeast Philadelphia car dealership early Wednesday morning, police said.
The incident briefly shut down all of Roosevelt Boulevard, but now only the southbound outer lanes are closed as officers continue to investigate the shooting scene. All other lanes are open and passable.
Philadelphia police officers take cover from gunfire near Gary Barbera dealership on Roosevelt Boulevard
Here's what happened Wednesday morning per a news conference with Philadelphia police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore.
Before 5 a.m., officers responding to reports of a vehicle crash went to Borbeck Avenue near the Boulevard in the city's Rhawnhurst section, next to the Gary Barbera dealership.
There, they found a Dodge pickup truck with two tires on the sidewalk and two in the street, Vanore said.
Officers approached the truck and offered help to the driver. When the officer went back to his vehicle and began to drive away, they heard gunshots. They immediately called backup and took cover behind parked cars, Vanore said.
Backup officers arrived and said the incident became a barricade situation and requested SWAT assistance. At some point, the man in the truck began throwing objects out of the vehicle.
SWAT teams then arrived and were also shot at. Two SWAT officers then fired at the pickup truck, Vanore said.
Eventually the man in the vehicle was pronounced dead by medics on the scene. Police have only said he's a man in his 70s, and he has not been identified.
No officers fired their weapons until SWAT officers arrived, Vanore said. Police are still investigating who was firing shots at the officers.
Police are now reviewing surveillance video of the incident.
No officers were hurt in the shootout.
The southbound outer lanes of Roosevelt Boulevard are still closed near Borbeck Avenue. Our Chopper 3 saw traffic moving on the other sections of the road after 6:30 a.m.
The city office of emergency management says you should cross over to the inner lanes before Rhawn Street if you are driving southbound down Roosevelt Boulevard.
