Police Officer Shot In Face In North Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia Police officer was shot in the face Monday morning while serving a search warrant in Philadelphia's Germantown section, and two residents in the home they were searching – one of whom has since died – were shot in the incident as well, according to police.

Police said Officer Jaison Potts, a 49-year-old, 20-year veteran of the police department, was shot while serving a search warrant with the SWAT unit at about 6:06 a.m. at a home on the 4800 block of Knox Street.

Potts was shot by the 59-year-old homeowner, who is the grandfather of the person police were searching for via the warrant, which was issued for a 28-year-old man accused of firearms violations, police said. The suspect has since turned himself in, police said.

Potts is in critical condition at Temple University Hospital but is not suffering from life-threatening injuries, police said.

Officers shot and hit the man who shot Potts, critically injuring him, police said. That man likely thought the situation was a break-in as he may have not heard the police announcing their presence, police said. He later died from his injuries, police said.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said it appeared he was trying to defend his home.

Additionally, a 67-year-old woman was shot in the abdomen in what police believe was the result of a shotgun pellet ricocheting; she is listed in critical condition at Albert Einstein Medical Center.

Potts is married with three children.

Ross called Monday's scene an "all-out tragedy" and that an "extensive investigation" is underway regarding the shooting.

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