CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. — Authorities in Chester County are investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred overnight in Caln Township.
The suspect involved suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, but is expected to survive, according to Chester County District Attorney Deborah Ryan, whose office is leading the investigation.
According to Ryan, the incident occurred around 1:54 a.m. on Feb. 22 and began at a Wawa store in the borough of Downingtown.
The suspect, whose identity was not released by authorities, allegedly stole a vehicle that was parked in the store's parking lot.
Caln Township police officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the suspect refused to comply and fled into a residential neighborhood.
One officer stopped their vehicle at the intersection of Westerham and Shelburne roads, with the intent to deploy stop strips to immobilize the suspect's vehicle, investigators said.
As the police officer was retrieving the stop strips from his vehicle, the suspect crashed into the marked police vehicle head-on at a high rate of speed, forcing the police car backward approximately 40 yards.
The officer, who was positioned behind his police vehicle, had to dive out of the way to avoid impact as he saw the defendant driving directly at him, investigators said.
The officer was showered with debris from the impact, but was not injured.
The suspect’s vehicle eventually came to a rest approximately 50 yards away from the impact. The suspect got out of the stolen vehicle and began walking away from the officers as they approached, ignoring their commands to stop, investigators said.
The pursuing officers were within 15 feet of the suspect when he stopped, turned to face the officers, reached his hand behind his back, quickly raised his hands clutched together while pointing toward the officers and stated, “I’ll shoot," according to investigators.
One of the officers fired four shots at the suspect, striking him in the right leg and causing him to fall to the ground, investigators said.
After being shot, the suspect stood up and refused to follow directions from the officers on scene, continuing to indicate to officers that he was looking for his gun, according to investigators.
But the officers, who were now within arm’s length of the suspect, recognized that he was not holding a firearm and attempted to de-escalate the situation, investigators said.
The suspect made his way to the passenger door of the stolen car and opened it. One of the officers deployed a taser and brought the suspect under control and he was handcuffed.
The suspect was transported to Paoli Hospital and treated for a single gunshot wound to the thigh and a broken elbow, according to investigators.
The incident remains under investigation, and Ryan's office said it will provide written findings at its conclusion.
