A 16-year-old boy was charged with attempted murder for his involvement in a shooting Monday night in North Philadelphia that left a police officer with a graze wound to his head.
Investigators said the teenager, Jasir Harris, stole a white Chevrolet Malibu at gunpoint earlier in the night from a driver on the 2500 block of Aramingo Avenue in Port Richmond. The car’s owner used OnStar to track the vehicle and called 911.
Two officers, who were in full uniform but in an unmarked cruiser, pulled onto the 2200 block of N. Reese Street just after 8 p.m. and spotted the white car, police said. As they tried to turn around, Harris allegedly fired at them while they were still inside their vehicle.
A 28-year-old officer was grazed in the head, and his partner received cuts to the face when the bullet shattered their car window, police said. Both were treated at Temple University Hospital and have since been released.
Harris was apprehended nearby on the 2200 block of N. Fairhill Street, according to authorities.
In addition to attempted murder, he is being charged with aggravated assault, assault of a law enforcement officer and other crimes. An attorney for Harris could not be identified Wednesday.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, in a statement, said Harris “will hopefully face the serious legal consequences that he should have faced a long time ago.”
“While only 16, this young man has an extensive criminal record, and it is nothing short of a miracle that we aren’t planning funerals for two of our brave police officers,” she added.
“While there is little doubt that this young man has encountered numerous systemic failures during his short life, none of those circumstances have given him the right to terrorize society in the manner in which he has,” Outlaw continued.
Authorities did not detail Harris’s alleged previous offenses, and juvenile court records are typically confidential.
