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Police officer shot, wounded near 59th and Market; shooting suspect arrested (updated)

April 18, 2016

UPDATE (2:50 p.m.): The man suspected in the shooting of 24-year-old police officer James McCullough has been arrested, according to police. 23-year-old Scott Griffin was in the possession of a gun when he was arrested around 1 p.m. on Monday.

A police officer was shot in the leg on Sunday while tackling a robbery suspect near 59th and Market, according to reports. Two suspects, including the gunman, remained at large as of Monday morning.

The shooting happened at around 8:50 p.m. when 18th District police responded to a call of a robbery and a car break-in on the 5900 block of Market Street. Police say three suspects robbed a man and took the keys to the victim’s car, a Ford Expedition. The robbery victim reportedly chased the suspects to a nearby SEPTA station at 60th and Market, beat up one of them and held him for the police. The other two suspects ran toward 59th and Salford and tried to get into a Dodge Durango, which they mistook for the robbed man’s car.

The wounded officer, identified by the authorities as , was flagged down by a woman, who owns the Dodge Durango, according to reports. He got out of the patrol car and tried to tackle one of the suspects when he was shot in the thigh. Both suspects, including the one who shot the officer, escaped. Police say McCullough fired his weapon three times at the suspect, but he still managed to flee. 

McCullough was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he is listed in stable condition.

It had initially been reported that two suspects had been detained; however, police mistook the robbery victim for one of the suspects when they arrived at the 60 Street Station.

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