A gun-toting madman and an innocent bystander were killed during a chaotic West Philadelphia shootout that also left two cops and three civilians wounded Friday night, authorities said.
The unidentified shooter walked up to Sgt. Sylvia Youngs squad car in the Walnut Hill neighborhood around 11:20 p.m. and shot her as many as eight times in the arm and chest through an open window.
He said nothing as he fired, according to Police Commissioner Richard Ross.
Young, a 19-year department veteran, miraculously survived thanks to her protective vest and was listed in stable condition at an area hospital.
Ross said a note believed to be written by the shooter was recovered near Youngs car. The twisted letter allegedly contained rambling anti-police rhetoric and even named a parole officer as a specific target.
After shooting Young, the suspect fled and began firing at random into a nearby bar, striking a security guard in the leg. As police descended on the scene, the suspect grabbed a woman and used her as a human shield before shooting her in the leg and running off again.
Philadelphia police flooded the area early Saturday and all public transportation was shut down as cops hunted a possible second suspect.
As he ran, the suspect fired off several rounds, striking a man and a woman sitting in a parked car. The pair were rushed to a hospital, where the woman was later pronounced dead and the man remained in critical condition.
Ed Miller, a campus cop from the nearby University of Pennsylvania, was shot in the chaos as well as he joined two other officers in chasing after the depraved shooter.
Cops eventually cornered the gunman in an alley, where he was shot and killed.
Police flooded the area early Saturday and all public transportation was shut down as cops hunted a possible second suspect.
The names of the civilian victims have not been released.
The wounded officers were taken to an area hospital where they were listed in stable condition.
Hours after the harrowing shooting, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney pleaded with officers to wear protective vests while on the job.
Every shift, please wear your vests, he said at a press conference. They will save your life, as we saw tonight.