Tragedy struck at another Fourth of July shooting Monday evening (July 4). This time, two officers were injured. On Monday (July 4) shots rang out on Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia shortly after 9:45 p.m. Attendees could be seen running down the Ben Franklin Parkway after the gunshots erupted. One of the injured officers, a 36-year-old Philadelphia Police Department highway patrol officer was grazed in the forehead. “It is miraculous that the round stopped in his hat. It initially, I think, went up the inside, hit his forehead, and then the round stopped in his hat,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw during a news conference shortly after midnight on Tuesday (July 5).
The second officer is a 44-year-old Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy. He suffered a graze wound to his right shoulder. As most holiday celebrations require extra law enforcement, the sheriff’s deputy was assisting Philadelphia police. Both officers were taken to Jefferson University Hospital where they were treated and released early Tuesday morning. The names of the aforementioned officers have not yet been released. Highway patrol and other Philadelphia police offers showed their support for their colleagues as they stood outside the hospital cheering and clapping upon their release.
Officials are unclear as to how many shots were fired but they believe the gunfire came from a location in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art behind the main stage on Eakins Oval. According to Outlaw, the officers said they didn’t hear any shots fired. As the investigation ensues, she says it is also unclear if the shooting was intentional, if the officers were hit by stray bullets or if the bullets came from celebratory gunfire.
This unfortunate shooting comes just hours after the Highland Park shooting in Chicago, IL. The suspected gunman in that investigation has been taken into custody.