*Is it a case of a copy-cat gone crazy or is he really an agent of ISIS?
That’s the question authorities and folks in general are asking in Philadelphia today after a gunman ambushed a police officer.
That officer, Jesse Hartnett (33), is recovering after he was shot several times late Thursday night in West Philadelphia.
Police commissioner Richard Ross says officer Hartnett was sitting in his patrol car around 11:30pm at 60th and Spruce Streets when a gunman fired nearly a dozen shots through the driver’s side of the car.
“Shots fired! I’m shot! I’m bleeding heavily!” Officer Hartnett was heard yelling on police radio.
Police are calling it an “attempted assassination.”
During a press conference, Commissioner Ross said the gun used in the attack was a stolen police firearm. Ross also says the suspect – identified as Edward Archer, 30 (pictured above) – has given a full confession, saying he did it in the name of Islam.
“According to him, police bend laws that are contrary to the teachings of the Quran.”
Sources say the suspect’s full confession of the alleged attack was written down and recorded on video.
“When you look at the video, this is one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen,” Commissioner Ross said. “This guy tried to execute the police officer. The police officer had no idea he was coming. It’s amazing he’s alive.”
“We’re thankful to God he’s here today because it easily could’ve been a police funeral.”
Hartnett was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he underwent surgery for a broken arm. Ross says the officer’s arm suffered significant damage and that he has a long road to recovery, but he is expected to be okay.
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