Would-Be Philadelphia Cop-Killer Claims ISIS Inspiration, Investigators Say

Officer Jesse Hartnett survived an ambush by a suspect who claimed he was inspired by ISIS, police said. Photo source: Philadelphia Police Department, via Twitter.

Philadelphia police officer Jesse Hartnett has miraculously survived a late-night ambush in which a man who allegedly claimed allegiance to ISIS fired at least 11 shots at him and reached inside the patrol car to fire.

The FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security immediately became involved in the probe, Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said. Hartnett, 33, a five-year veteran and former member of the Coast Guard, reportedly was hit at least three times at about 11:40 p.m. Thursday while in uniform and while operating a marked patrol car in West Philadelphia.

Hartnett, seriously wounded, still pursued his attacker and returned fire, Ross said. The commissioner called the attack “absolutely evil.”

The incident drew immediate comparisons to the horrifying and fatal ambush of two New York police officers in 2014. The New York attacks were dubbed assassinations, and Ross said Hartnett’s attacker tried to assassinate him.

“This alleged intentional act of violence against an officer seeking to help a fellow citizen is horrifying and has no place in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement.