Video shows altercation before off-duty Philadelphia officer was killed

Seconds before an off-duty Philadelphia police officer was shot and killed outside a Southwest Philadelphia nightclub, he was involved in a confrontation with the man who police believe fired the fatal shot, according to a surveillance video under review by department investigators.

The video captures a previously unseen part of the encounter that preceded the Aug. 16 killing of Officer Alhassane Barry, 29. But it does not show the shooting itself, leaving critical questions unanswered.

Police spokesperson Sgt. Eric Gripp confirmed Friday that the department is reviewing the video as part of its investigation. But he declined to comment further, citing an “active homicide investigation.”

No charges had been filed against the alleged shooter as of Friday afternoon.

The newly surfaced video footage, which was obtained and reviewed by The Inquirer, appears to show Barry leaving Nipsey’s Hookah Lounge with the man police have identified as a suspect in the killing and a third man who has not been publicly identified.

Barry is seen in the video moving toward the alleged shooter, who is then struck twice in the head by the third man. The blows appear to knock him out of the camera’s view.

Barry and the third man then run in the same direction, also disappearing off screen.

A few seconds later, Barry comes back into view, falling onto the sidewalk outside the nightclub. He appears to be bleeding from a gunshot wound to his abdomen.

Police had said they responded to a report of gunfire shortly before 4 a.m. Aug. 16 on the 7200 block of Elmwood Avenue. Officers found Barry and a 35-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds.

Both were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where Barry was pronounced dead at about 8 a.m. The other man, who had been shot multiple times, was critically injured.

It was unclear Friday whether the 35-year-old victim was one of the men in the surveillance camera footage.

The footage comes as investigators try to determine what led to the shooting of the off-duty officer and whether the circumstances warrant criminal charges against the man police believe fired the fatal shot.

Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation said Friday that self-defense had become part of the discussion about whether charges would be appropriate. The sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said the investigation had also not yet been referred by police to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for review.

Police previously said that Barry, the other critically injured victim, and the suspected shooter had been inside the after-hours lounge before the shooting. The men exchanged words inside, Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said earlier this week, and the verbal confrontation continued after they went outside. Police said the altercation then became physical before the men were separated and the suspect opened fire.

The newly surfaced video appears to capture at least part of that physical confrontation. The video does not show what happened before the men exited the club. And because the shooting occurs off camera, it does not show the moments in which the man fired his gun.

Investigators recovered a firearm and eight spent 9mm shell casings at the scene.

Barry had been a Philadelphia police officer for two years and was assigned to the 12th District in Southwest Philadelphia. Before joining the department, he served for a decade in the Pennsylvania National Guard, including a two-year deployment to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and left the Army as a sergeant, according to an Army spokesperson.

His killing prompted a funeral attended by more than 100 people at the Fouta Islamic Center of Philadelphia on Monday. Mourners and fellow officers remembered Barry as a young man devoted to public service.