Newly Released Video Captures Moments Leading Up to 8-hour Standoff That Wounds 6 Philly Officers

– Blogged by: @DanielleBTV

New video captures the frightening moments leading up to the standoff that left six officers injured by gunfire.

The video was captured on a neighbor’s surveillance camera. In the video, you can hear gunshots ringing out repeatedly, as people walking on the street are puzzled by what is happening.

Towards the end of the video, an officer can be seen tumbling out the front door of the house as another officer dashes to his side, to help move him away from the active gunfire. 

36-year old Maurice Hill, who is accused of shooting six Philadelphia police officers in a standoff that lasted almost eight hours, surrendered to police.

Neighbors nearby said, “It was like a war – like a scene that you see in war,” according to NBC 10 #Philadelphia. Gunfire broke out Wednesday afternoon after police tried to serve an arrest warrant to a home in the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood, according to officials.

As officers rushed upstairs, a gunman was reportedly waiting downstairs with an AK-47 and fired off several rounds through the ceiling of the home. Police returned fire while some officers escaped through windows and doors, according to NBC 10. Unfortunately, not all officers escaped, some got trapped in the house with the gunman after he barricaded himself. 

Authorities had to use tear gas to get the suspect out of the house, the police chief said. Six officers were injured by the time the exchange of bullets to and from the home ended.

Authorities say that Hill was not injured in the shootout. However, he was taken to Temple University Hospital for evaluation and was later released, as officers escorted him out around 3 a.m.

In a press conference early Thursday, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said the suspect had prior arrests, but his office is not discussing the details of the charges at this time.

None of the officers reportedly suffered life-threatening injuries, Ross said, adding that a bullet grazed the head of one police officer. A seventh officer, who was injured in a car crash while responding to the scene, remains in the hospital and that officer’s condition is unknown at this time.