Ballistic Vest Saves Philadelphia SWAT Officer

That's when he realized he had been hit by a bullet and left the building. The bullet did not penetrate his vest, police say, and he was left with only a red mark on his chest.

A Philadelphia Police Department SWAT officer was shot in the chest Friday, but the round did not penetrate his bullet-resistant vest. The officer was taken to Temple University Hospital, checked out, and then released.

SWAT officers were going up the stairs of a building and as they approached a third-floor unit at least two shots were fired by the suspect.

As they were attempting to force their way inside an apartment on the third floor, the lead SWAT officer who was hit told officials he heard pops, then felt a stinging in his chest. He looked to see drywall dust on his shoulder and holes in the wall and apartment door ABC6 reported.

That's when he realized he had been hit by a bullet and left the building. The bullet did not penetrate his vest, police say, and he was left with only a red mark on his chest.

The suspect fled through a rear window while still holding a gun and dropped to a second-floor roof, said Commissioner Danielle Outlaw. There he encountered SWAT officers acting as rear containment. One of those SWAT officers fired, Outlaw said, but the suspect - who was still allegedly holding a weapon - was not hit.

The SWAT officers had been accompanying the Philadelphia Police Department's Gun Violence Task Force in serving a warrant because police believed the situation was a high risk, 10 Philadelphia reported. Following the incident, the scene became a hazmat situation since the suspect was known to manufacture drugs.

"Thank God no one was injured today, thank God the officer was able to walk out of the hospital," Outlaw said in a press conference outside the hospital. "This was a SWAT team today. This is our best of the best," she said. "They have the equipment; they have the gear. What if it wasn't the SWAT team?"

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