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City police were called to the 400 block of W. Bringhurst Street just after 4 p.m. on April 29, Daily Voice has reported. Soon after, police heard one shot, left the house, set up a perimeter, and declared a barricade.
The suspect, who police now identify as 65-year-old Steve Robbins, spoke at length with a Hostage Negotiator Detective by phone and through a PA system on a SWAT team vehicle, according to a release from PPD on Friday, May 5.
The situation endured for nine hours, during which Robbins repeatedly "indicated that he would not leave the property," authorities claimed.
Eventually, negotiators lost contact with the 65-year-old and a SWAT team entered the property, the release says. As they made their way up to the third floor, Robbins allegedly fired a shotgun through a bedroom door, police wrote.
The blast hit Sgt. Erik Bullock and Officer Matthew Fitzpatrick in their ballistic vests and also struck the ballistic shield of a third officer, according to the release. They returned fire, shooting Robbins once in his right shoulder, authorities said.
The 65-year-old suspect was taken to Einstein Hospital and placed in "critical but stable" condition, police wrote. Bullock and Fitzpatrick did not "sustain any penetrating injuries," and were taken to the hospital as a precaution but later released, they added.
“Yet again our officers were placed in a harrowing and life-threatening situation,” said Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw in a statement. “I was grateful to express my heartfelt concern and gratitude to our SWAT officers who were injured in the line of duty."
Bullock is a 25-year veteran of the Philadelphia police force, and Fitzpatrick has served for a decade, the department noted.
"Their actions were a testament to their bravery, and we all pray that they are able to quickly recover from this traumatic experience," Outlaw said.
"Our members will not be intimidated, and we will not back down."
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