A Philadelphia police officer is recovering after a shootout in the city’s Tacony section that left a suspect dead.
The incident happened at 12:45 a.m. Tuesday in the 6400 block of Ditman Street.
Police first received a report of a man with a gun at that location.
Two officers enroute to the scene heard a description of the suspect and remembered seeing someone fitting that description on a block they had just passed.
They turned their cruiser around and spotted the suspect at Magee and Torresdale Avenues.
Police say the suspect immediately pulled out a weapon and fired at the officers.
Officer Stephen Korpalski and three other officers shot back. Korpalski was grazed in the head.
He was picked up by another officer and rushed to Einstein Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.
According to Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Richard Ross, the officer was talking on the way to the hospital.
“First thing you hear, shot in the head, so all the alarms go off,” said Ross. “But we arrived, and he was sitting up talking and asking questions. That was a good thing. But any time you take a hit, it’s always a serious thing.”
Korpalski is a 14-year veteran of the department and married father of a 3-week-old child.
Police say the suspect was hit several times. He was rushed to Aria Torresdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators were working to confirm the man’s identity. They said his weapon was recovered at the scene.
The District Attorney’s office and Internal Affairs are investigating.