Penn Officer Wounded Assisting Philly P.D.
Late Friday night a Philadelphia Police Officer, Sgt. Sylvia Young, was ambushed about a mile from the Penn campus at 52nd and Sansom while sitting in her patrol car. Following calls for assistance, Penn Police officers rushed to the scene to support the Philadelphia Police response. The suspect proceeded to shoot four civilians, killing one, before being confronted near 48th and Sansom by Penn Police Officer Ed Miller. Officer Miller was shot and wounded before the suspect was killed by Philly P.D.
Both Officer Miller and Sgt. Young, as well as the three wounded civilians, were transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Officers Miller and Young are expected to make full recoveries. After visiting with Officer Miller early Saturday morning, Penn President Amy Gutmann issued the following statement.
Statement from Penn President Amy Gutmann:
I was able to meet with Officer Miller this morning at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and am so relieved and pleased to report that he is getting excellent care and will fully recover from his wounds. I extended my profound thanks to him from everyone at Penn for his bravery, as I do to Sgt. Young of the Philadelphia Police and all of the other courageous professionals who came to the rescue last night.
Officer Miller’s bravery underscores the courage and professionalism of our Penn Police force. We are blessed to have the best university police department in the nation, and it would be impossible to adequately express how deeply appreciative the entire Penn community is for the expertise and caring commitment of these fine officers.
In these challenging and difficult times for our country, there is no place that is immune to such senseless outbursts of violence. Our commitment to the safety and security of our students, faculty, staff and community has never been greater. We are extremely fortunate to have great men and women like Officer Miller on patrol at Penn. We can all rest easier knowing that they are daily doing their job to keep us safe.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims and their families as we wish those who survived last night’s terrible tragedy a full and rapid recovery.