Off-duty cop shoots tap room bandit in NE Phila.
An off-duty police officer shot and critically wounded a bandit during an armed robbery at a bar in Northeast Philadelphia Tuesday night, police said this morning.
An off-duty police officer shot and critically wounded a bandit during an armed robbery at a bar in Northeast Philadelphia Tuesday night, police said this morning.
The wounded man later showed up at a hospital and police took four men into custody for questioning, police said. No charges have been filed yet.
Lt. Ray Evers, a Police Department spokesman, provided the following account.
Around 11 p.m., a young man walked into McNally's Tavern on the 3300 block of Brighton Street in the Mayfair section and ordered a drink.
About six other people were in the bar, including two off-duty police officers.
The bartender asked the man for ID because he looked too young and when he could not prove his age, he left.
About 10 minutes later, the man returned with two other men and announced a stickup at gunpoint.
A robber pointed a gun to the head of one of the off-duty officers, who took his money out, threw it on the floor and got down.
On the floor, the officer slowly pulled out his off-duty handgun and then fired several times at the thieves, prompting them to flee with about $1,000 from the cash register and a wallet containing the other off-duty officer's ID and badge.
The officer gave chase and he fired again when one of the bandits turned toward him while getting into a dark colored Honda parked in the alley next to the bar.
About 30 minutes later, a man whose clothes fit the description of one of the robbers arrived in a dark colored Honda at Albert Einstein Medical Center with a bullet slug in his chest.
Police later stopped a dark colored Honda on the 5200 block on Masher Street, about 1.5 miles from the hospital, and took four men into custody.
They were taken to Northeast Detectives for questioning while investigators obtained search warrants for the Honda and several locations.
The wounded man was reported in critical condition at Einstein, where he underwent surgery for his gunshot wound.
As is standard procedure in such cases, the officers will be placed on administrative duty while Internal Affairs investigates the shooting.