A Philadelphia police officer is “fighting for his life” after he was shot in the neck during a traffic stop on Saturday evening, city officials said.
The 31-year-old officer, who is a husband and father, is on life support at Temple University Hospital, Mayor Cherelle Parker told reporters outside the facility.
“As your mayor, it is not lost on me that on today a husband, a father and the son met his partner and went to work to do a job that he’s been doing for about six and a half years,” Parker said. “He didn’t expect that he would be in a fight for his life right now.”
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said the officer and his partner had conducted a traffic stop around 8 p.m. in the Kensington neighborhood. The vehicle had four people inside, and the officers saw a holster while inspecting the car.
One man fled and fired three shots at the officers, Bethel said. One officer was struck in the neck, while the other officer returned fire. It was unclear whether gunfire struck the suspect.
The wounded officer’s partner drove him to the hospital. The officer remained in the surgical ICU in critical condition.
Parker wrote on social media that the officer was “on a breathing machine. Fighting for his life.”
Police launched a manhunt for the person of interest, who was eventually taken into custody after two barricade situations. All other individuals inside the car at the time of the shooting were also taken into custody, police said.
The wounded officer is a veteran of the police force, having served the Philadelphia Police Department for over six years.
Bethel asked Philadelphians to pray for the officer.
“I ask people across the city of Philadelphia to pray for our officer and pray for the men and women who are here today, who went out in the field knowing that they’re going to give their lives for this job,” the commissioner said.
No further information was immediately provided.
Fox News’ Madison Scarpino contributed to this report.
