Standoff Leads To Fatal Shooting By Bensalem Police



by Alex Lloyd Gross

At about 3:40PM yesterday afternoon,a traffic stop was initiated by Bensalem Police on a car near the intersection of Route 1 and Old Lincoln Highway. At hat time,the driver told the officer that he was armed and not going to go back to jail. There was a passenger in the car as well, police said. In spite of speaking to the driver for about 45 minutes in attempts to deescalate the matter, the suspect drove away without cooperating with police.

A pursuit was initiated that saw the driver go near Philly and onto I-95, north, through Lower Bucks County only to return southbound where he exited onto Route 13 and subsequently was blocked in by police near Woodhaven Road. SWAT officers were called and the location of the incident was on Route 13 , near the Liberty Gas Station, just south of Woodhaven Road.

The suspect was adamant about not going to back to jail. For two hours, police tried to talk with him. Not knowing what would happen, local businesses were closed and the area was cordoned off. Eventually, the suspect was sprayed with teargas by Bensalem SWAT officers in an attempt to get the occupants to exit the vehicle. The driver then lifted a handgun and pointed it at officers. Officers discharged their weapons at the driver of the vehicle. Officers pulled the driver from the vehicle, took him into custody, and began life-saving measures. The passenger of the vehicle was taken into custody and was unharmed. The driver was taken to Jefferson Hospital, Torresdale Division by medics. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, Detective Glenn Vandegrift, of the Bensalem Police said.

Police said the officers involved in the shooting are now placed on administrative leave until the conclusion of the investigation by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. Names of those two males will not be officially released until that investigation is complete, police said.

Alex Lloyd Gross Photo Delaware Valley News.com Officers at the crime scene on Route 13

The area around the Liberty gas Station was closed to traffic until the early hours of Saturday Morning.