Philadelphia drive-by shooting kills man; plainclothes officers fire shots at suspects in Germantown

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Two plainclothes Philadelphia police officers discharged their weapons on Sunday night after they witnessed a drive-by shooting that claimed one man’s life, according to officials.

It happened around 6:42 p.m. near the intersection of East Pastorius and Baynton Street while the 14th District officers were investigating an unrelated homicide in the city’s Germantown section.

Investigators say a dark gray or silver Nissan SUV pulled onto the block and two or three suspects started shooting at 31-year-old man who was walking down the street. Police say the officer’s car was struck.

“The officers were in an unmarked vehicle in the backdrop of this shooting, and in fact, their vehicle was struck one time,” said Philadelphia Police Inspector D.F. Pace. “They weren’t sure whether they were being ambushed or if this was a shooting of another nature. They then identified the vehicle and began returning fire.”

Investigators say the suspects fired 27 bullets and hit the victim 15 times.

Two officers shot back a total of nine times.

The victim was rushed to an area hospital by police where he later died.

Investigators say it doesn’t appear that bullets from police injured anyone, but the entire incident is under investigation.

No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS.