October 09, 2026
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Police shot and killed an armed man who opened fire on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and threatened responding officers on Friday morning, authorities said. The photo above is a file shot of the Parkway.
Philadelphia police fatally shot an armed man who opened fire on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Friday morning and waved his revolver at officers during a tense standoff, authorities said.
Police responded to the Parkway and 21st Street at 11 a.m. after receiving reports that a man had fired a handgun, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said. Officers set up a perimeter around the man in an effort to get him to drop his weapon.
"The individual is just continually pointing the weapon, waving the weapon multiple times, pointing it at the officers," Bethel told reporters in the aftermath of the standoff, per a video posted by FOX29. "The officers all backed away, tried to take as much cover as possible."
Traffic was shut down on a section of the Parkway as police used a bullhorn to communicate with the gunman. Some officers took cover behind cars.
"This is a large area," Bethel said. "We're going into lockdown mode to keep people inside. We're trying to make sure people do not cut through."
The standoff lasted for about 20 minutes before the armed man fired his weapon, prompting return fire from a Philadelphia police officer and a SEPTA Transit Police officer, authorities said.
There were no injuries reported to police or members of the public.
Investigators remained at the scene Friday afternoon to determine how many shots were fired on the Parkway before authorities were notified. Bethel said at least two 911 calls were placed to report the armed man, who has not been identified. Bethel said the man appeared to be in his 50s. There were not details provided about anything the man said to police during the standoff.
"We will investigate whether this is a situation around suicide by cop," Bethel said.
Police said a section of the Parkway would remain closed until the scene was processed.
Philadelphia and SEPTA police will now conduct internal affairs and officer-involved shooting investigations. Bethel said he was proud of the work officers did to confront a high-risk situation in a prominent public space.
"The officers had to take the action necessary to stop that threat," Bethel said.
