Philly cops praised for ‘restraint’ after teen shoots at officers

A day after a mass shooting targeting police officers left two wounded and one bystander dead, Philly cops were again putin the line of fire during a routine beat patrol on one of the busiest streets in the city.

Police said Sunday that they arrested a 19-year-old male who apparently panicked after getting caught smoking pot on South Street fled and shot at officers in pursuit. Officers were able to apprehend the teen without using force, they said.

Ironically, marijuana has been decriminalized and possession or public use would not have resulted in an arrest for the suspect.

“Last night, Philadelphia Police Officers were faced yet again with another round of gunfire almost exactly 24 hours after a Sergeant was ambushed and shot,a University of Pennsylvania police officer was shot,several citizens were shot, one of which was killed by a lone gunman,” the police department said in a statement. “During this most recent incident, the officers used a tremendous amount of restraint during this incident and were able to apprehend the shooter without returning fire.”

At approximately 11:47 p.m. Saturday, a police officer on the 800 block of South Street walked by a group of people and “detected a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the group,” a police report stated. “The officer then called out to the group at which point a male fled.”

The suspect ran east on South Street, then up Darien Street and hid in a driveway. As police followed the suspect allegedly fired three times at them from the driveway. Moments later, police nabbed the teen in a rear yard on Darien Street.

The suspect was hospitalized for a sprained ankle “that was the result of jumping over fences of the rear yards of homes on the 500 block of Darien Street,” the police reported added.

The suspect and specific charges were not released by police.