Three Wilmington police officers were shot overnight while they were responding to a call on Wednesday evening. It happened while the officers were directing all residents in the area to shelter.
“Those located in the area between 23rd Street and 27th Street, from West Street to Carter Street, are asked to shelter in place and await further instructions from the police,” was the initial statement from the Wilmington Police Department.
An activist living in the area said that he was convinced that a division between the community and the police caused Wednesday night’s tragic event. The shooting that he witnessed had the added aggravating factor of residents shouting insults to the officers carrying the injured men away.
How did it all happen?
As WCAU-TV reported, the suspect, whose identity has not been made public yet, opened fire on the officers during an hour-long standoff. The prolonged dispute ran into the early hours of Thursday morning.
The officers had responded to a call at the King Plaza Apartments when a suspect suddenly opened fire from a nearby apartment. He attacked the officers unexpectedly.
Three officers were injured in the standoff and were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated. They are now in stable condition.
A resident living in the area shared with the station that she heard 10 to 15 suspicious sounds ring out on Wednesday night. She hurried outside to see what was going on and soon discovered a police officer carrying another officer.
“I saw a Wilmington police officer carrying another Wilmington police officer. He laid him down on the street in front of his police car,” the unnamed witness said for the news station.
On that same night first responders were also seen using a fire truck ladder to get inside the building through a window. Later, a woman and a small child were taken out through the same window, and they came down the ladder. It is not known if they are connected in any way to the attack.
Why was there not more support from the community?
“We are praying for the Wilmington PD officers shot in the line of duty, their families, and their fellow members of Delaware's law enforcement community,” Delaware Gov. John Carney said.
“I am praying for the wounded officers of the Wilmington Police Department and thankful that they are in stable condition, on the path toward a speedy recovery,” Delaware Sen. Chris Coons stated.
However, Jamie Leonard, president of the Delaware State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police, remarked that there is a very concerning “uptick in officers who have been shot.”
“First and foremost, we're happy that this situation did not end up worse than what it did. This is a local example of the climate towards law enforcement that you're seeing exemplified all across this country, and it's reflective of the national statistics where we've seen a 20% uptick in officers who have been shot in the line of duty this year, as compared to this point last year. And unfortunately, yesterday we added three more officers to that tally. We hope that the tide begins to change, and people recognize the sacrifices that the law enforcement officers make to protect the residents and citizens that they serve.”
Wilmington activist Rev. Derrick "Pastor D" Johnson is convinced that mistrust in the police played a big part in what happened, as The Delaware News Journal reported on Thursday.
“There's a gap in Wilmington between police and community, and the perception is that we're a community under siege. The residents were shouting insults at officers who were carrying out other wounded officers,” he said.