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1st LD Writethru: Shooter who wounded Philadelphia police officer says he is IS sympathizer

Xinhua, January 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

A suspected gunman who shot and seriously wounded a police officer in the U.S. city of Philadelphia said he did it in the name of Islam and had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group, police said Friday.

The suspect fired at least 13 shots at officer Jessie Hartnett and his car on Thursday night, the city's police commissioner Richard Ross said, adding that Hartnett returned fire, hitting his attacker at least three times.

The police officer was in a stable condition.

The suspect ran away but was quickly apprehended by other officers. There was no immediate word on the suspect's condition.

"This is absolutely one of the scariest things I've ever seen," Ross said at a news conference. "This guy tried to execute the police officer. The police officer had no idea he was coming."

U.S. broadcaster CBS News reported that the suspect did not appear to have been on law enforcement's radar. The FBI has joined the Philadelphia police in the investigation.

The incident happened more than a month after the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, which was the first time the IS-inspired terrorists have successfully struck in the U.S. homeland.

On Dec. 2, two suspects, Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik, opened fire on a holiday gathering at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino with long rifles, killing 14 people and injuring 21 others.

The couple died in a shootout with police hours later. Both killers were believed to have been radicalized before the massacre. Enditem