2 police officers shot following Philadelphia fireworks show

One officer received a graze wound.

July 5, 2022, 3:42 PM

Two police officers were shot during a Fourth of July fireworks show and concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia on Monday. Both officers were treated and released from the hospital later that night, according to police.

Sergio Diggs, 36, an officer assigned to highway patrol, received a graze wound to the forehead, police said. The round stopped in the officer's hat. He is a 13-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department.

The other officer, John Foster, who was assigned to the Montgomery County Bomb Squad, sustained a gunshot wound to the right shoulder. The 44-year-old, who has 16 years of service, was present to work security at the event, as was the other injured officer.

PHOTO: Police respond to a shooting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 2022, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video.
Police respond to a shooting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 2022, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video.
Audrey Schneider via Reuters

The officers were standing on the sidewalk at the base of the Art Museum steps when the shooting began.

They both were transferred to the Jefferson University Hospital for treatment, according to WPVI, and police said they have been released.

The shooting took place in Center City on Monday night. The city Office of Emergency Management advised on Twitter to avoid the area.

This marks at least the second incident of gun violence around an Independence Day celebration in the United States, after at least six were killed in a shooting at a parade in Highland Park, Illinois.

A suspect in the Philadelphia shooting has not yet been named or arrested. Police said they are still investigating the shooting. A $20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the armed suspect, according to WPVI.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said at a late-night press conference that it had been "a laid-back, chill day" -- "but we live in America."

"If I had the ability to take care of guns," he said, "I would."

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