Teen Shot After Crashing Bus Stolen In West Deptford On Bridge

PHILADELPHIA — A teenager is in stable condition after he was shot in an incident with two Delaware River Port Authority police officers early Monday morning, DRPA CEO John Hanson said.

The teenager reportedly stole a school bus from a West Deptford dealership early Monday morning. He was shot by officers after he crashed the school bus on the bridge and then came after the officers with a knife, Hanson said during a press conference Monday afternoon.

After the shooting, the teen was taken to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with non life threatening injuries. The officers were treated and released. They were not on duty Monday afternoon, but no disciplinary action has been taken against them, Hanson said.

The incident began when the teenager stole the short school bus worth $60,000 off the lot of H.A. DeHart and Sons in West Deptford, according to the lot's operations manager, Charles Chaplick.

The teen was arrested by DRPA police and his knife was confiscated, Hanson said. He wasn't sure what the exact charges against the suspect were Monday afternoon.

DRPA police and the Philadelphia Police Department are investigating the shooting. Their findings will be submitted to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, Hanson said.

West Deptford Police Chief Sean McKenna said his agency is investigating the theft of the short school bus worth $60,000 that prompted the whole situation.

A West Deptford police officer noticed the school bus driving erratically on Route 44 at about 11:30 p.m., according to West Deptford Police Chief Sean McKenna. The school bus had no license plate, and the officer gave pursuit, McKenna said.

The bus lead police on a high-speed chase on I-295, pulling over momentarily at Exit 21. When the officer stopped to approach the bus, the driver of the bus took off once again, McKenna said.

The chase resumed, but the officer called off the chase for safety reasons after the bus got off at Exit 25, hit a guardrail and kept going, McKenna said. West Deptford police then notified New Jersey State Police and DRPA, McKenna said.

It wasn't until 12:40 a.m. that DRPA police came across the crashed school bus, and a masked man leaving the scene, Hanson said. By then, the bus was on the eastbound side of the Walt Whitman Bridge heading into New Jersey from Philadelphia.

It isn't clear what happened between the end of the pursuit in West Deptford and the time DRPA police came across the crash scene, Hanson said. However, he said there was no way the bus could have turned around in the middle of the bridge.

Hanson said when police first came across the masked man, he was armed with a knife, and he wouldn't comply with their commands. He didn't say anything to them, but he charged at them with the knife, prompting the shooting, Hanson said. Two officers fired shots, and Hanson wasn't sure how many times the teen had been shot.

"The officers discharged their weapons to protect themselves from being attacked by a man with a knife," Hanson said.

After the shooting, the officers recovered the weapon and immediately administered first aid before the teen was taken to the hospital, Hanson said.

The teen was arrested by DRPA police and his knife was confiscated, Hanson said. He wasn't sure what the exact charges against the suspect were Monday afternoon.

DRPA police and the Philadelphia Police Department are investigating the shooting. Their findings will be submitted to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, Hanson said.

McKenna said his agency is investigating the theft of the short school bus worth $60,000 that prompted the whole situation.

During the incident, eastbound lanes of the bridge were closed, but the scene was cleared by 8:30 a.m., Hanson said.

The bus was set to be purchased by Bellmawr-based Holcomb Bus Services, and had just finished inspections, Chaplick said. It was not yet officially the property of Holcomb, although Holcomb was written across the side of the bus. It was a brand-new bus, Chaplick said

A representative from Holcomb wasn’t available for comment on Monday.