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A Philadelphia parking authority officer was shot in the head in broad daylight by a thug in the City of Brotherly Love last Friday.
The suspect was caught on a surveillance camera walking up behind the 37-year-old male parking official and shooting him in the head at point-blank range at 3.50pm on the 45xx block Frankford Avenue the day after Thanksgiving.
The officer, who was on duty at the time of the crime, is seen in video footage immediately collapsing onto the sidewalk before help arrives.
He is now in stable condition and the PPA is hopeful he will make a full recovery, having primarily been injured in his shoulder and ear.
Police are still investigating the incident and have not yet made any arrests, but believe the victim was a ‘target’.
Following the shooting, Philadelphia Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said, ‘It’s bold. It’s brazen and something we’re definitely going to do everything we can to solve immediately.’
‘We believe he was the intended target,’ he continued. ‘We have some witnesses saying a car pulled up, shots were fired, and then a car pulled away.’
Crime has surged in Philadelphia over the last handful of years, including a 23 percent rise year-over-year in the total number of crimes. One Twitter user, after viewing the footage of the parking officer being shot, dubbed the birthplace of liberty a ‘war zone.’
The suspect is seen here raising his gun to the on-duty parking authority officer’s head in a targeted shooting attack that left the officer with injuries to his ear and shoulder
The suspect left the downed officer for dead after shooting him point blank in the head in broad daylight on the day after Thanksgiving
Police remain unsure as to what prompted the shooting, but it may be linked to a parking ticket issued by the victim. Officers are reviewing names of drivers who have recently been ticketed by the enforcement agent.
Vanore said the parking authority is working with the police department.
‘They’re assisting us on going through what he did today and we’ll go back through that very carefully to see what we could find out,’ he said.
The injured officer was known to the Frankford, Philadelphia neighborhood community, where he was on assignment before the shooting.
Bamba Sissoko of Frankford said he speaks with the officer every day. ‘He’s a good guy, really nice guy,’ he told ABC6.
A statement by the Philadelphia Police Department said it is seeking the public’s help locating the man, who is described as Black or Hispanic, 5’9″ – 6’0″, thin, wearing a navy-blue hooded sweatshirt, green cargo pants, black mask, gloves, and black boots.
‘The male should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Shooting Investigation Group (SIG) at 215-686-8270 or call 911. DC 22-15-085402,’ it added.
One week prior to the targeted shooting of an officer, a 35-year-old sanitation worker, Ikeem Johnson, was killed on the job in what police believe was also a targeted attack – though investigators are still searching for a reason why.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the shooting ‘wasn’t random.’
‘We don’t believe it was random just based off the fact the suspect knew where the victim was, meaning at some point, was able to track either on foot or in a vehicle,’ she said.
‘We don’t know at this point, but just based off the nature of the confrontation and how it occurred and how quickly it occurred, we believe it was intentional.’
Philadelphia police officers recently told the city’s mayor that they are unable to ‘keep up’ with the rapidly rising crime rate
The steady stream of violent episodes prompted the Democratic city leader Jim Kenney to call an emergency meeting behind closed doors with city officials to discuss ways to reduce the violence in September
Violent crime as a whole is up about three percent year-to-date in Philadelphia overall crime has surged 23 percent since this time last year.
Though the homicide rate has dropped 8.6 percent since 2021, the general trend over the last handful of years has been a steep climb. And the number of reported robberies has also skyrocketed 36.7 percent. The number of shooting victims has also ticked up 0.9 percent since this time last year.
In total, there have been 14,044 violent criminal offenses reported to the Philadelphia Police in 2022, with about one month left on the calendar.
Earlier this year, Philadelphia police appealed to the city’s mayor that they ‘can’t keep up’ with the rapidly rising homicide rate, and the mayor on Monday signed an order that will ban citizens from carrying guns in public places like parks and schools.
The crisis of lawlessness in Philadelphia has become so dire that the city’s District Attorney, progressive Larry Krasner, is currently facing an impeachment trial.
Earlier this month, state legislators voted to impeach Krasner over progressive policies that have contributed to the vast rise in crime in Philadelphia.
In a near party-line vote, state assembly members voted 107-85 to move ahead with what would be the state’s first impeachment trial in 30 years.
State Republicans, whose majority shrank by one seat this year, will need the support of at least some state Senate Democrats in order to attain the two-thirds majority vote necessary to remove Krasner.
The situation in Philadelphia is now so bleak that the Mexican government has been using footage of homeless people and open-air drug users in some of the city’s troubled neighborhoods to scare young Mexicans away from using drugs.
Woke Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner faces a state Senate trial and possible removal from office after the Republican-led Pennsylvania state House
Ultimately, most of the fentanyl in circulation in the US is brought in via Mexico, a reality which raised questions about the harrowing video proudly presented by the Mexican government.
The office of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney acknowledged in a statement the city faces a drug crisis but added that ‘it is always hard to see our city’s people and neighborhoods portrayed in a limited and negative light.’
The ads don’t name the city or neighborhood shown, but the location can be identified by signs in the background, including one for the Allegheny station on SEPTA’s Market–Frankford Line.
It remains unclear why the Mexican government decided to use street scenes from the US to scare Mexicans – who have their own drug problems. Critics say the ads recycle dubious scare tactics about drugs rather than offer help or treatment.
Kenney’s office said the city’s drug problem is real but that it is not limited to a single city or neighborhood and noted that all people are capable of ‘hope, healing, and resilience.’
‘The opioid and overdose crisis in Philadelphia is part of a national and even international epidemic, and we agree it is important for everyone to understand, as this video notes, that all street drugs now present an elevated risk of overdose because of fentanyl’s extreme prevalence,’ a spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney said.
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