Philadelphia police officer shot near Overbrook High School after trying to break up a fight
An officer is in critical condition after he was shot while police were breaking up a large fight outside Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said.
Bethel announced Thursday that Dachan Seay, 30, had been charged in the incident.
The officer was shot once in the stomach and is recovering at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
The shooting happened in the 1900 block of North 59th Street in the city's Overbrook section, outside the high school, at around 2:45 p.m.
Bethel said police responded to calls about a number of fights happening outside Overbrook High School around the time of dismissal. Officers called for backup, and Bethel said some arrests were made.
The police commissioner said that at some point, a 30-year-old man came into the area armed with a Ruger-57, a semi-automatic pistol.
"That is a very deadly weapon for us and a weapon that would penetrate our vests when fired," Bethel said.
Bethel said the suspect appeared to fire the gun into the ground, and the cartridge ricocheted, striking the 26-year-old police officer under his bulletproof vest. Bethel said the officer, who has been with the department for a little more than one year, didn't immediately realize he was shot but was rushed to the hospital shortly after.
The gun was recovered, and the adult suspect was arrested, police said.
Bethel said no Philadelphia Police Department officers fired their weapons during the incident.
"I am extremely proud of the men and women of this department," Bethel said. "When I sit there and watch the video and watch what they endured and watched their response to that in the moment, I am proud of these men and women and what they endured."
Before taking over as the city's police commissioner, Bethel served as the chief of school safety for the School District of Philadelphia.
"Listen, fights after school have been happening since I was a kid. But what I never would do is call an adult to my fight," Bethel said. "And then, when you are an adult, you're the damn adult. You're supposed to know better. You're supposed to be the one who comes in there to de-escalate, not escalate."
"So when you have an adult with a weapon that could easily kill one of my officers, I mean, it makes absolutely no sense. And so we are constantly encouraging parents, you know what I mean? It can't just be us," Bethel added. "It can't just be [Superintendent] Dr. [Tony] Watlington and the school district. It has to be parents engaged in this process. But when a 30-year-old man comes to a fight with children, what the hell are they going to do? And then, you bring a gun, so you're a coward anyway. You going to come to the fight, come to fight. But you bring a gun, and then you fire the weapon, anyone could've been injured. Unfortunately, my officer is the one who was injured in this case, and we're also fortunate no other individuals were hurt as well."
Overbrook High School Principal Julian Graham said in a letter sent to school families and shared by the Philadelphia School District that students and community members were involved in a fight outside the high school, but no students were injured.
All the after-school programming that was scheduled at Overbrook on Wednesday was canceled. The school said the off-site sports and activities weren't affected.
"As you know, the safety and well-being of our students is the main priority of each and every staff member here, and we will always strive to ensure that school remains a secure and welcoming environment," Graham wrote in the letter.
"Violence is never an acceptable means to conflict resolution, and we echo the district's commitment to teaching and reinforcing appropriate conflict resolution skills to our students and encourage students to seek solutions from a caring adult in our building if they need support," Graham continued. "Our thoughts are with the impacted officer."
The school district is working with the Philadelphia Police Department in its investigation.
Bethel said the officer had recently graduated and had been on the job for a few months.
A large police presence was gathered outside Penn Presbyterian's emergency room to show support for the officer.
"President Roosevelt Poplar and FOP Lodge #5 Executive Board extend our heartfelt wishes for a swift and full recovery to our 19th District Officer who was shot in the line of duty this afternoon," a FOP Lodge No. 5 spokesperson said in a statement. "We ask you to keep our officer and his family in your thoughts and prayers."
Before the shooting happened on Wednesday, Parker, Bethel and Poplar gathered to honor Philadelphia police and firefighters who lost their lives on the job at Franklin Square. She said when the event ended, they received a call about the shooting near Overbrook High School.
"It puts into mind that sometimes it can be too easy to take for granted the sacrifice that the men and women who put their lives on the line on a daily basis for us that they make every day," Parker said. "They leave their homes in the morning, or before their shifts, they kiss their loved ones goodbye, and they never know if they're coming home. There is no devotion to service that is more impactful than what our police officers, our firefighters and our first responders do for our citizens every day of the year."
