Two Philadelphia police officers shot in Germantown standoff
They were struck by a 65-year-old man arrested for unlawfully touching a minor
It started with a single gunshot.
That’s what Philadelphia police officers said they heard on Saturday as they attempted to enter the Germantown home of 65-year-old Steve Robbins, who was barricaded inside and wanted for missing a court hearing.
Officers responded that afternoon to reports of a man with a weapon. Robbins’ warning shot initiated a lengthy standoff, one the District Attorney’s Office called a “suicide by cop” attempt that would end with two SWAT officers shot and Robbins in the hospital, struck in the shoulder area by officers returning fire.
A spokesperson for the department said officers were trying for Robbins’ peaceful surrender as he holed up on the third floor of the house on the 400 block of West Bringhurst Street.
But after hours of unsuccessful phone conversations between Robbins and a negotiator, the tense situation took a violent turn when officers entered the home, climbing the stairs to the bedroom where Robbins waited with a shotgun.
Robbins sent one shot through the closed bedroom door, striking the officers outside, according to police.
Two male officers, a 56-year-old and a 35-year-old, were shot, but were wearing bulletproof vests. A third officer holding a bulletproof shield was also hit, but not seriously injured.
The first two officers returned fire, according to police, striking Robbins one time in his upper right chest. Robbins was rushed to the hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition and later released.
He was charged with assault of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, and related crimes. Robbins will also be charged with six additional reckless endangerment charges for endangering a family member and officers at the scene, authorities said.
Robbins was wanted for failing to appear at a February 2022 court hearing on charges of unlawful contact with a minor.
According to the criminal complaint in that case, a 9-year-old relative told detectives in 2020 Robbins inappropriately touched her twice the year before. Robbins was arrested in October 2021, and later posted bail, then failed to show up at a court hearing.
After shooting the officers, Robbins was being held on $1 million bail on the new charges, authorities said.
The two officers who shot Robbins have been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation.