DAILY NEWS: A retired Philadelphia cop working as a pizza deliveryman fatally shot a 14-year-old boy who was
pointing a gun at him during an attempted robbery yesterday morning in Frankford, police said. Shortly afterward, in an unrelated shooting, a police officer’s bullet fragment hit a 17-year-old robbery suspect in the face in Fairmount, police said. In the first incident, the 14-year-old and two other suspects were trying to rob the ex-officer at gunpoint while he was delivering a pizza about 1:15 a.m. on Lesher Street near Bridge, police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said. The boy pointed the gun at the former cop while his cohorts — also believed to be teenagers — attempted to go through the victim’s pockets, Vanore said.
But the deliveryman — whose name was withheld by police — was able to reach into a pocket and pull out a semiautomatic Glock, which he had a permit to carry, Vanore said. The deliveryman shot the gun-wielding boy once in the chest, and the boy was pronounced dead at 2:14 a.m. at Temple University Hospital, police said. His identity was not released pending notification of his family and the identification of his alleged accomplices. The two other teens were still being sought by police, Vanore said. MORE
PHAWKER: So, this is the exact scenario the NRA is always hyping when they push for relaxing all restrictions on carrying concealed weapons. Now, let us first say, we know first hand what it feels like to have a kid stick a gun in your face and take your wallet. And yeah, in the moment, anger is a natural emotional response and the Dirty Harry fantasy of introducing your assailant to the business end of Mr. Smith & Mr. Wesson is likewise understandable. But the reality is this: A 14-year-old kid is dead and a retired-cop-turned-pizza-deliveryman is being investigated by the homicide unit. What part of this is a happy ending? Why not just give him the money — if you are on the clock, it’s fully insured for theft — and then call the cops with a thorough description and have him picked up a few blocks away. That’s what we did.