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Philadelphia police officer shot by man 'acting in name of Islam' Philadelphia police identifies man who shot officer 'in name of Islam'
(about 3 hours later)
A Philadelphia police officer was shot and seriously wounded in an ambush-style attack while sitting in his patrol car and the shooter admitted to committing the assault “in the name of Islam”, the city’s police commissioner said on Friday. A suspect who wounded a Philadelphia police officer in an ambush-style shooting and told investigators he launched the attack “in the name of Islam” has been identified as 30-year-old Edward Archer by authorities.
The 30-year-old shooter, who has been arrested, fired about 11 shots into the window of the officer’s car, Philadelphia police commissioner Richard Ross told reporters. He walked toward the car as he fired, eventually getting close enough to reach in the window. In a Friday afternoon press conference, Philadelphia police commissioner Richard Ross said Archer had referenced Islamic State militants but urged caution on the question of whether he had any connection or allegiance to Isis or any other terrorist organization.
“He has confessed to committing this cowardly act in the name of Islam,” Ross told a press conference, adding that the man also referenced Islamic State militants. Ross said that during questioning, Archer was “savvy enough to stop just short of implicating himself in a conspiracy”.
There was no evidence as yet that the shooter had worked with anyone else, Ross said. A court records search showed Archer had been charged with “terroristic threats” along with aggravated assault, conspiracy and several weapons charges stemming from a January 2012 incident. Archer plead guilty to simple assault and a single firearms charge in 2013 and was paroled for time served.
“He was savvy enough to stop just short of implicating himself in a conspiracy,” Ross said. “He doesn’t appear to be a stupid individual, just an extremely violent one.” Late on Thursday night, police officer, Jesse Hartnett, 33, was shot three times in the ambush and described as being in “very serious” but stable condition Friday afternoon. Officials said the officer, who sustained gunshot wounds to his left arm was in “good spirits” after undergoing surgery Friday morning. His arm was broken in the shooting and he also experienced nerve damage.
Officer Jesse Hartnett, 33, was taken to Penn Presbyterian hospital and will require several surgeries. Ross, who called the incident an attempted assassination, said Archer “just came out of nowhere and started firing on him … with one aim and one aim only – to kill him”.
“We’re just lucky, that’s all I can say,” Ross told reporters. “I can’t even believe that he was able to survive this.” The shooting occurred when the officer was driving through an intersection in his patrol car. Archer approached the vehicle with a gun drawn, firing as he advanced before firing the final three shots directly into the window. Authorities said Archer fired 13 shots in total. The attack was captured on surveillance video.
The attack comes a month after a married couple fatally shot 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in an attack inspired by Isis militants. Hartnett, bleeding heavily, got out of the squad car drew his weapon and shot the man at least once as he fled.
The shooter used a gun that had been stolen from a Philadelphia police officer’s home several years ago, but not by the shooter, Ross said. “It’s both confounding and astonishing that he was able to escape it, and I can’t say enough for his bravery and how he conducted himself,” Ross said of the officer.
“We know it was stolen; how many hands it may have passed through in the last couple of years, we do not know,” Ross said. Ross revealed Friday that the weapon used by Archer in the attack was a police weapon that had been reported stolen from an officer’s home in 2013. Ross said he did not yet know how Archer acquired the weapon.
Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf called the shooting “horrifying” and said such an act “has no place in Pennsylvania”.
In a Twitter post, newly inaugurated Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney said that “[l]ast night’s shooting had nothing to do with any faith. It was a violent assault by a criminal”, as he urged the city’s residents to stand together.
The FBI will be assisting the Philadelphia police department in their investigation, which is common practice in cases where terrorism is suspected.
The shooting comes at a time when many law enforcement have openly expressed concern about a “war on cops”. Although overall shooting deaths of police are on the decline nationwide, a series of targeted ambush attacks on officers including the fatal shootings of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in December 2014 and Harris County, Texas deputy Darren Goforth in August last year have reinforced this perception.