Gunman sought in shooting of Philadelphia officer

Police scoured the city Monday for a man who put a gun to the head of a city police officer, then shot him in the shoulder when the officer smacked the weapon away.

Sgt. Robert Ralston, 46, was grazed by the shot and released Monday from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Ralston fired back at the suspect immediately after he was shot, said Deputy Commissioner Richard Ross, and believes he may have hit the man in the torso.

"Obviously, this is a tragedy that was averted," Ross said. "It just demonstrates how brazen some of these people are."

Police started searching for the gunman and his companion shortly after 4 a.m. As of Monday night, police had found no trace of him.

Ralston, a 21-year veteran assigned to the 19th District, was patrolling near 56th Street and Lancaster Avenue, in the city's Overbrook section, early Monday morning. Police have been investigating a recent string of burglaries at a strip mall in the area, Ross said, and Ralston was on the lookout for anything suspicious.

He saw two men on the railroad tracks about 4 a.m. and tried to stop them, but one ran and the other drew a silver revolver and pointed it at Ralston's head, Ross said.

Ralston immediately knocked the gun out of the way, a reaction that Ross said may have saved the officer's life.

"It's quite conceivable that the shot could have been in his head or chest," Ross said. "It's remarkable that he did not sustain graver injuries."

The gunman ran east on the tracks, police said. Police said his hair was styled in corn rows. He has a mark or tattoo under his left eye and was wearing a white T-shirt.

Ralston, who is married with five children, was treated at the hospital but later returned to the scene to assist in the investigation.

Police knew of no witnesses to the shooting. There were no surveillance cameras close by, and Ross described the spot as a relatively desolate area, even in daylight.

Officers with dogs searched along the tracks and in woods at 52d and Lancaster, and knocked on doors in the neighborhood looking for people who might have heard or seen something.

Anyone with information is asked to call police.