Authorities say a Philadelphia police officer is recovering after he was shot several times during an ambush late Thursday night in West Philadelphia.
Philadelphia police commissioner Richard Ross says the officer, identified as 33-year-old Jesse Hartnett, was sitting in his patrol car around 11:30 p.m. at 60th and Spruce Streets when a gunman fired nearly a dozen shots through the driver's side of the car.
"Shots fired! I'm shot! I'm bleeding heavily!" Officer Hartnett was heard yelling on police radio. Police are calling it an "attempted assassination." During a press conference, Commissioner Ross said
the gun used in the attack was a stolen police firearm. "It was stolen back in October of 2013. It was reported, and that is one of the things you regret the most when an officer's gun is stolen, when it is used against one of your own."
Commissioner Ross says the suspect has given a full confession, saying he did it in the name of Islam. "According to him, police bend laws that are contrary to the teachings of the Quran." Sources say the suspect's full confession of the alleged attack was written down and recorded on video. Police identify the suspect as 30-year-old Edward Archer, of Yeadon.
"When you look at the video, this is one of the scariest things I've ever seen," Commissioner Ross said. "This guy tried to execute the police officer. The police officer had no idea he was coming. It's amazing he's alive." "We're thankful to God he's here today because it easily could've been a police funeral."
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