An off-duty police officer was shot at six times early Wednesday morning when he tried to break up a West Philly bar brawl.
Police told outlets that around 1:30 a.m., a group of men were beating on a male victim outside The Bar barn, which is located on Catharine Street, near the intersection of 49th Street and Baltimore Avenue. At that time, an off-duty cop drove past the intersection in his personal vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee, ABC reported.
Officials said that the officer parked his car outside of the bar and tried to protect the man from being assaulted. Authorities added that one of the men started to fire a handgun at the officer, who had a female passenger in his jeep.
Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told ABC that, “It took a lot of guts, got out of his car, approached this crowd that was actually punching and stomping a male outside of the bar, and he intervened and was able to stop the fight.”
The officer got back into his car and left the scene, uninjured.
It was reported that at least six shots were fired, with two bullets hitting the passenger side door.
“He was able to save this individual from getting assaulted, but, in return, somebody fired multiple shots at the off-duty officer. He’s very, very lucky that he wasn’t struck by gunfire,” Small added.
At this time, it is unclear if the off-duty officer identified himself as a cop. It was reported that the officer was armed but did not draw his weapon.
The male that was assaulted suffered minor injuries, and no one was taken to the hospital.
Police report that they are securing surveillance footage. It is believed that the man who discharged his weapon is a regular at the bar, but he has not been identified.
