An undercover drug-and-weapons sting turned deadly in Port Richmond yesterday afternoon when
an FBI agent shot a suspected dealer to death.
Police Chief Inspector Joseph Fox told reporters after the shooting that the FBI agent who fired the shot feared for his life. As the agent was running after the suspect, he yelled, “Stop, freeze!” and told the man to show his hands, Fox said.
Instead, the man “made a furtive move toward his waist,” Fox said. Then the agent took one shot – killing the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fox said the drama unfolded about 3 p.m. A confidential informant participating in a joint investigation for the police Narcotics Bureau and FBI was sitting in a car on Cedar Street, near Clearfield, with three men who were expected to lead him to a location to purchase drugs and weapons, Fox said.
But, instead, the three toughs apparently tried to rob the informant, who signaled undercover FBI agents and police that he was in trouble. The suspects in the car then started “pummeling” the informant, Fox said. As the agents ran to the car, the three suspects bailed out.
Of the fatal shooting, Fox said: “It doesn’t seem anything other than a justified shooting.” Police had yet to determine whether the suspect had a gun.
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