President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the convicted in the shooting of six police officers during a Philadelphia standoff should never have been allowed to be on the streets.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Maurice Hill, the suspect, has a long record of gun-related felonies and attempting to evade arrest. The suspect is now in custody.
Trump tweeted on Thursday morning, “The Philadelphia shooter should never have been allowed to be on the streets. He had a long and very dangerous criminal record. Looked like he was having a good time after his capture, and after wounding so many police. Long sentence – must get tougher on street crime.”
The convicted allegedly shot six officers during a standoff that started when two Narcotics Strike Force officers showed up to serve a warrant. According to Richard Ross, the Philadelphia Police Commissioner, things went awry almost immediately when Maurice started firing.
Before they were evacuated, two of the officers were barricaded in separate rooms with the rest of the hostages for five hours. The incident began at around 4:30 pm and the suspect was caught early Thursday morning he allegedly fired shots round up through the ceiling and round out a window. Officials told news reporters, that the suspect was armed with several handguns and an AR-15 rifle.
All the officers who were shot survived. Richard further told that it was no more than a miracle that they didn’t have multiple officers killed today.
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After a series of mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, Trump asked the Congress to take action. He specifically suggested stronger background checks and red flag laws for keeping potentially dangerous individuals from acquiring firearms. Whereas Congress is on a summer recess and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell resisted calls to bring senators early. However, he did say that when they will return, these matters will be a part of the agenda.
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