July 02, 2026
Street View/Google Maps
Philadelphia police fatally shot an armed man outside St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, above, on Thursday morning, police say.
A Philadelphia police officer shot and killed an armed man Thursday morning outside St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in North Philadelphia, authorities said.
Police received a call shortly before 10:30 a.m. about "an irate male with some issues going on" inside the hospital, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told reporters.
MORE: Philly school district owes $2.8 million to former employees, city controller says
The hospital's security guards told police that the man was possibly armed, Bethel said, and the man drew a gun when approached by two officers outside the building along the south side of Erie Avenue.
"One of the officers responded (by) firing the weapon, striking the male," Bethel said.
The man, whose name has not been released, was taken to Temple University Hospital and died a short time later.
Bethel said a woman who was standing next to the man was injured during the shooting and taken to the hospital, but it wasn't immediately known whether she had been struck by gunfire. Bethel said the woman is expected to survive her injuries.
"It really is a tragic event unfolding," Bethel said. "We're still trying to sort it out. Clearly, this individual may have been going through some kind of mental issue or some mental breakdown. We have a lot to sort out as to what got him here and how we got here."
The firing officer's name has not been released as of Thursday afternoon.
Details about how many shots were fired and the whether the armed man opened fire are still under investigation. Only one officer fired a weapon, and Bethel said the shooting happened "within minutes" of police arriving at the hospital. There were no injuries to police.
Bethel said the man's gun was recovered at the scene and the investigation is ongoing.
"We don't know what the intended purpose of him carrying a weapon into the hospital space, what that intention was," Bethel said.
A lockdown that went into effect at St. Christopher's Hospital since has been lifted.
