Police fatally shoot man, injure woman in South Philly

Philadelphia police fatally shot a man and injured a woman in South Philadelphia early Friday after the woman pointed a gun at the officers, police said.

No officers were injured.

Police said two uniformed officers went to the 1500 block of South Bailey Street just after midnight to investigate a report of gunfire in the area.

Deputy Police Commissioner Melvin Singleton said the officers saw a man and a woman behind a house, and the woman pulled a gun and “fired several shots at the officers,” prompting the officers to return fire.

In an account released later Friday, the department did not say if she had fired the gun, only that the officers fired when the 22-year-old woman “pointed her weapon" at them. After the shots, she and the 33-year-old man both fled inside the house through the rear kitchen door and were apprehended there, police said.

They were taken by police to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. The man, who had been shot in the stomach, died at 1:42 a.m.

The woman, who sustained gunshot wounds to her left thigh, left hip, and left buttocks, was admitted in stable condition, police said.

Their identities were not released.

When asked to clarify whether the woman fired her gun, a police spokesperson said by email: “This is preliminary information and is subject to change as the investigation progresses.”

Police said investigators recovered five weapons from the scene, including a .380-caliber gun near where the man was found on the living room floor.

In a statement, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw pledged a thorough investigation. She called the use of deadly force “the most serious action that police officers are empowered to undertake.”

“While no police officer begins his or her tour expecting to discharge their firearm, that decision must sometimes be made at a moment’s notice,” her statement said. “These situations are often tragic, particularly when they result in the loss of life.”