Shots Fired After Philadelphia Police Officer Sees Red Dot

PHILADELPHIA -- In a terror-filled incident that resulted in no apparent injuries, one of two Philadelphia police officers responding to a call for assistance Saturday night noticed a red dot of light on his shirt, leading him to believe that he was being targeted by a firearm fitted with a laser. Then he and a fellow officer heard multiple gunshots, police said.

The officer who saw the red light on his uniform fell to the ground on the 2300 block of North 13th Street in North Philadelphia, drew his service weapon and fired six rounds in the direction of two males who had approached him just before he saw the red light, police said. The incident occurred just after 10 p.m.

The two men ran from the scene, leaving no indication that either had been struck by the officer’s gunfire. A check at area hospitals turned up no gunshot victims, police said. A firearm magazine containing six .380-caliber cartridges was found in a rear driveway on the 2300 block of North 13th Street, police said.

The search for the men continues, as does the investigation into the circumstances leading up to the officer firing his weapon. His identity has not been disclosed.

The officers had gone to that location to meet two people who had called police in reference to a cell phone theft, police said. The officers were talking to the person who reported the theft when two males approached from behind a vehicle and the red light appeared, police said.

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