Police Say Attempts to Speak to Philadelphia Shooter Have Been Unsuccessful, Hostage Situation Is Not Resolved

A standoff continues in North Philadelphia Wednesday evening nearly three hours after at least six Philadelphia police officers were shot during what officials called “an active firefight.”

The shooting, in the city’s Nicetown-Tioga section, prompted a massive response to the largely residential North Philadelphia neighborhood.

As of 8:00 p.m., two officers remained trapped inside a home where an ongoing shoot-out stretched into a third hour. Officials were attempting to communicate with the gunman and “imploring him to surrender,” police said.

Gunfire initially erupted around 4:30 p.m. after narcotics officers served a warrant to a house near the corner of North 15th and West Butler streets, according to officials.

As officers rushed upstairs, a gunman waiting downstairs with an AK-47 fired shots through the ceiling. Police returned fire and a standoff ensued.

A seventh police officer responding to the scene was injured in a car accident at the nearby intersection of North Broad and West Cayuga streets. A pedestrian was also injured, police say.

All of the officers are expected to survive, officials said.

At least one suspect was taken into custody shortly after the firefight started, according to police.

Officers continue to battle with a second gunman, who remains barricaded inside a home as of 8 p.m.

“It was like a war – like a scene that you see in war,” a woman who lives in the neighborhood told NBC10. “The guns, the fire, the noise – it was like bombs going off simultaneously at a time where people are having dinner.”

Frantic calls from responding officers first came in around 4:30 p.m., according to audio obtained via Broadcastify.

“Officer calls for everything you got. SWAT, long gun,” a law enforcement officer can be heard saying on the audio. “I got an officer shot.”

The officers were seen crouching behind cars, blocking off surrounding streets and surrounding several nearby homes as the firefight unfolded.

Nearby, stunned families and neighbors gathered behind police tape. Several churches and a daycare are in the immediate area.

The daycare, Precious Babies Learning Academy, serves children as young as 8 weeks old. It was placed on lockdown while 80 children remained inside, according to owner Yvonne Thomas-Curry.

The children were eventually evacuated by police and have reunited with their anxious parents.

The six injured officers have non-life threatening injuries and are expected to make a full recovery.

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