The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA- A man sought for questioning in a police officer’s death was shot and wounded as officers tried to detain him, authorities said.
Solomon Montgomery, 23, was shot Thursday after leaving a house where police were waiting for him, authorities said. When the officers approached, he rammed a sport utility vehicle into two police cars and tried to run away, police commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said.
The officers shot Montgomery twice as he appeared to reach into his pocket, Johnson said. Two semiautomatic weapons were found in Montgomery’s pockets.
He was in stable condition Friday at Albert Einstein Medical Center.
Authorities wanted to speak with Montgomery about the shooting death of police Officer Gary Skerski, who was killed by a shotgun blast May 8 while responding to a 911 call at a bar.
Johnson said authorities do not know whether Montgomery was responsible for the shooting but the fact that he was wanted on a California warrant provided more incentive to look for him.
Montgomery was wanted in Emeryville, Calif., for failing to appear in court last summer on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, receiving stolen property and other counts, court records show.