the robbery suspect. Upon being discovered by the dog, a male opened fire with a 20-gauge semiautomatic shotgun, hitting one officer in the leg and wounding the victim officer in the front, below the waist, in the arms and legs, and fatally in the chest. Other officers at the scene shot and killed the 21-year-old assailant. The victim officer succumbed to his wounds early the next morning. PENNSYLVANIA A 9-year veteran officer with the Philadelphia Police Department was fatally wounded January 2 at 8:30 a.m. as she responded to two citizens’ complaints and a 911 call. Prior to the call, three employees who were in the process of opening the bank were forced at gunpoint into the bank. A male forced the hostages initially to lie on the floor and then ordered them to open the vault. A second male waited near the front door. A third male acted as a getaway driver and waited across the street. Responding to the call, the 43-year-old officer entered the bank and walked toward the manager’s office. Approaching the officer from the rear, the second male allegedly shot her in the back with a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun. The man exited the bank and immediately entered into a gunfight with another police officer. Dropping his weapon, he then fled in the waiting van. Still inside the bank, the first suspect heard the gunfire and fled out a side door. Allegedly, he discarded his weapon and some clothing before fleeing on foot. The victim officer was transported to a local hospital where she died of her wound. The recovered weapons were traced to two of the males. Over the next month, three suspects, two aged 26 and one aged 22, either surrendered or were captured; all were charged with Murder, Robbery, and related crimes. At approximately 11:30 p.m. on January 19, a 27-year-old off-duty officer with the Philadelphia Police Department was shot and killed while riding in a vehicle with
another off-duty officer. The victim officer, a 5-year veteran of law enforcement, had just left a lounge where he and his companion had encountered three males. One of the males allegedly recognized the victim officer’s associate as the policeman who had been involved in his criminal hearing earlier that same day. Unknown to the two officers, the three males followed them as they left the establishment. While the officers were stopped at a traffic light, the men pulled their vehicle along the passenger’s side of the officers’ vehicle and opened fire with a 9 mm automatic handgun. The victim officer was struck in the arms and hands and sustained a fatal shot in the rear upper back. The other officer, who was driving, was unharmed and followed a police car that had responded to the shots to a nearby hospital where the victim officer was pronounced dead. Two suspects were arrested early the next morning, and another was arrested by the FBI 6 days later in Delaware. The two 22-year-old and one 19-year-old males were charged with Murder, Attempted Murder, and related crimes. At approximately 1:15 p.m. on March 22, a 45-year-old Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Lansdale Resident Agency was shot and killed on the Philadelphia waterfront. In the course of an undercover drug investigation, the 16-year veteran agent was meeting with an alleged drug dealer and a cooperating witness to set up a future drug transaction. The agent and dealer were sitting alone in an automobile in front of a local hotel at the time of the shooting, the cooperating witness having previously exited the vehicle. Backup agents were covering the area. During the meeting, the agent attempted to arrest the dealer, and a gun battle erupted which ended in the death of both men. The agent’s assailant, who was armed with a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, fired three shots, hitting the agent twice in the torso and once in the leg. The agent fired five shots from his .38caliber revolver, three of which struck and killed his 24-year-old assailant.
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