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Police officers shot at from burning house in Kensington

An unidentified man with a gunshot wound to his face jumped or fell from a second-floor window where gunshots were being fired from on the 600 block of East Clementine Street.

Police responding to the sound of gunfire were shot at from a rowhouse on the 600 block of East Clementine Street that somehow caught fire and found a possible suspect with an unexplained gunshot wound to his face, authorities said. Wednesday, March 9, 2022.
Police responding to the sound of gunfire were shot at from a rowhouse on the 600 block of East Clementine Street that somehow caught fire and found a possible suspect with an unexplained gunshot wound to his face, authorities said. Wednesday, March 9, 2022.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer

Police in Kensington were shot at from a rowhouse that somehow caught fire Wednesday night, and a possible suspect with an unexplained gunshot wound to his face jumped or fell from the second-floor of the burning building, authorities said.

Around 8 p.m., police said they responded to the sound of gunfire and saw and heard what appeared to be shots being fired from the front second-floor bedroom window of an abandoned rowhouse in the middle of the 600 block of East Clementine Street.

One bullet penetrated the roof of an unmarked and unoccupied police vehicle, but none of the officers at the scene were hurt, police said.

Officers checked the rear of the two-story house and could tell from an open door that there was a fire inside and heard more gunfire, police said.

An unidentified man, described as in his 20s, jumped or fell from the front second-floor window, police said. He was transported by police to Temple University Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition with a gunshot wound under his chin.

The rowhouse become fully engulfed in flames and firefighters battled the blaze for more than an hour before declaring it under control.

A preliminary check of the property revealed no bodies inside, but a full search was pending a review of the burnt structure’s safety by the city Department of Licenses and Inspections.

How the fire started was under investigation.

People living in the neighboring homes were evacuated, police said.