6 missing, including children, after 2 cops shot near suburban Philadelphia home set ablaze, report says

Rachel Tucker
·2 min read

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — At least six people are missing, including children, after two officers were shot while responding to a suburban Philadelphia home that was then set ablaze, according to NBC Philadelphia.

“Our fear is there may be multiple people inside that home who have died,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said. “We are hopeful that that is not true.”

Delaware County officials said police were called to Baltimore Pike and Lewis Avenue in East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, for a report of an 11-year-old girl that had been wounded by gunfire, according to reports.

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Officers immediately came under fire and two were wounded, officials said. Both were reportedly taken to Penn Presbyterian Hospital.

One was shot in the arm and the other in the leg, and they were in stable condition, said Margie McAboy, director of policy and public engagement for the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office.

At a news conference Wednesday evening, officials said both officers are expected to be “perfectly fine.” The officers were dragged out of harm’s way by other officers from Upper Darby.

Officials said at a news conference that they don’t know who was in the house, how many people were in there, or if they’re alive. Officers are working to make sure the house is safe before making entry.

NBC Philadelphia reported that officials wouldn’t be able to enter the home until Thursday morning because the fire isn’t completely out.

Officials are also working to learn if the child was or was not shot.

Aerial footage from NBC affiliate WCAU showed a home with its roof destroyed and the second floor fully engulfed in flames. The fire appears to have spread to a neighboring residence.

A neighbor reported hearing gunshots before he was ordered out of his home by police. He told reporters he was worried his home would catch fire with his dogs still inside.

There’s no word yet on the shooting suspect or the cause of the fire.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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