By Kasey Jones
Associated Press
A man who died after shots were fired in a struggle with Delaware police had been shot earlier in the day by a Philadelphia officer, authorities said Thursday.
New Castle County Police in Delaware said in a statement that officers were responding to a request for a welfare check at an apartment complex Wednesday night when they approached the 28-year-old man in the parking lot.
The man got into a car and tried to flee, and an officer trying to arrest him fired shots as they struggled, police said. It was not known whether the man was hit by the gunfire.
Police found the car and the man in a park. The man was taken to a hospital, where police said he later died.
Earlier Wednesday, police in Philadelphia responding to a report of a person with a gun encountered the man, who was wanted on warrants. The man was sitting in the driver’s seat of a minivan; a woman was in the front passenger seat, and four young children were in the rear seats, although the officers did not see the children, Philadelphia police said.
The officers tried to stop the man from driving away, police said, but he put the minivan in reverse and struck an officer who was near the driver’s open door.
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The officer saw the man reach under the seat and opened fire on the man, hitting his left side, Philadelphia police reported. The minivan crashed into a car and stopped, and the man got into an unoccupied, parked car that had its engine running. The woman and the four children also got into the stolen car, and it fled the scene.
The officer in Philadelphia was treated for cuts and bruises; the driver of the car the minivan hit suffered minor injuries. The New Castle County police officer was treated and released for injuries.
Police in both states said they are investigating the shootings. They have not released the names or races of the officers or the man who was fatally shot.