A man accused of opening fire at Philadelphia police officers in a nearly eight-hour standoff is facing a litany of charges including attempted murder, the district attorney announced.
Maurice Hill, 36, surrendered to police around midnight Wednesday after police attempting to serve a narcotics warrant at a home in the northern section of the city were fired at.
Six police officers were injured, and two were trapped for hours upstairs in the home before they and three civilians were rescued by SWAT officers during the standoff, authorities said.
"The actions of Maurice Hill not only resulted in the worst mass shooting of Philadelphia police officers in our city's history, they terrorized an entire community for nearly eight hours," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement Monday.
"This case is a damning illustration of the twin epidemics of drug trafficking and gun violence, which most often prey on vulnerable communities, making our neighbors afraid to socialize on street corners or to let their children outside to play,” the district attorney said.
Hill is charged with attempted murder and assault on law enforcement officers. He faces similar charges for the officers who were shot at inside but escaped as well as those who were trapped. He's also been charged with recklessly endangering another person and unlawful restraint for the civilians held captive; as well as narcotics offenses, Krasner said.
Police have said that Hill, who is being held without bail, was armed with an AR-15 rifle and a handgun.
All six officers who were shot suffered non-life-threatening injuries, ranging from gunshot wounds to graze wounds. They have all been released from area hospitals, officials said.
“It's nothing short of a miracle that we don’t have multiple officers killed today," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr., said the night of the incident that.
Ross resigned as commissioner Tuesday amid allegations of sexual harassment and racial and gender discrimination in the department.
Krasner said Monday that the standoff case remains under investigation.
The district attorney's office homicide unit supervisor Anthony Voci that more than 100 rounds were fired and more than 250 videos need to be processed. Four other men are charged with drug offenses, the Associated Press reported.
