By Joseph A. Gambardello INQUIRER STAFF WRITER A robbery suspect was fatally wounded after a running gun battle with police this morning in Port Richmond.
Police were investigating the possibility that the man shot himself in the head about the same time
as a police officer fired one round into the man’s shoulder area. During the gunbattle, the man fired about 10 shots at police, including three bullets into the side of a patrol car. […] “He was determined not to get caught,” said Capt. Ben Naish, a police department spokesman. Police said they recovered a bag with money next to the body of the man, who has not been identified.
Today’s death was the third fatal shooting by police this year.
Police shot and killed Bryan Jones, 20, in Overbrook a few minutes into the New Year when Jones apparently stumbled into an ongoing police operation. He was unarmed. Early Sunday, police shot and killed Charles Kelley, 26, who they said lunged at them with a knife while urging them to kill him. Police said they first tried to subdue Kelly with a non-lethal electric stun gun.
Last year, the city had 20 police fatal shootings, and two more involving Philadelphia police outside the city.
INQUIRER: Summary Justice?