A police officer in a small Delaware County borough survived seven gunshots Friday morning from an alleged drug dealer who was on parole, police in Pennsylvania said.
The 25-year-old Folcroft Borough officer, identified as Chris Dorman, was shot in the neck, face and shoulder around 9:45 a.m. in the rear of an apartment building on Elmwood Avenue, according to Delaware County officials.[[384355111, C]]
He was, "Up and talking, awake and talking, so that's great," said Folcroft Fire chief Tom Weber who told NBC10 he's known officer Dorman for ten years.
Dorman also serves as a volunteer firefighter, something he's been doing since he was 16-years-old.
Newark: Correction: Service is suspended until further notice due to police activity.
— SEPTA (@SEPTA) June 24, 2016
Police said he was expected to make a full recovery.[[384344991, C]] [[384317181, C]]
Four other bullets were stopped by Dorman's bulletproof vest, which officials credited with saving the officer's life.
The suspect was identified as Donte Brooks Island. Island was arraigned Friday on attempted murder and other charges and held on $1 Million bail.
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Federal court records show that Island was on parole for an illegal gun possession conviction. He served 110 months in jail and was nearing the end of three years' supervised release when he allegedly shot Dorman Friday. [[384328101, C]]
Island's parole, in fact, was set to end one day after the shooting, according to court records, which further indicate that Island stopped reporting to his parole officer last July. Numerous attempts to reach Island failed, the records show, and he missed five scheduled drug tests during the nearly 12 months he failed to report as ordered by federal court.
It was not immediately clear if he was represented by an attorney on Friday. Island said nothing to news cameras when walked to a police car at the Folcroft police station.[[384315481, C]]
Dorman, who joined the Folcroft department last year, was in critical but stable condition, according to Police Chief Robert Ruskowski and expected to make a full recovery.
The chief said the injured officer is one of the borough's part-time officers and has been a volunteer firefighter in Folcroft since he was 16. He also said Dorman was in the process of becoming a SEPTA police officer.[[384285691, C]]
"You don't want him to leave. He's that type of guy," Ruskowski said. "Great sense of humor."
A comment posted last month on a photo of officer Dorman in uniform on what is believed to be his facebook page said, "I really hope you're wearing a vest!!!"
Dorman replied to the comment, "Always..."
In his initial exchange with a police dispatcher Friday, Dorman can be heard shouting: "I'm shot in the face! I'm shot in the face!"
Fifteen seconds later, he said: "I'm shot! I'm shot! I'm shot!"[[384303791, C]]
The shooting scene was Folcroft Station Apartments on Elmwood Avenue, a short distance from the Folcroft police station and SEPTA's Folcroft train station near Philadelphia International Airport.
A resident of the Folcroft Station Apartments, which SWAT teams surrounded a short time before 12 p.m., said the suspect was smoking marijuana outside the building in the 1500 block of Elmwood Avenue prior to the shooting.[[384329821, C]]
Ruskowski confirmed that Dorman responded to a report of people smoking drugs in the rear of the apartment building.
Police rushed Dorman to nearby Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, according to a hospital spokesman. He was later taken by helicopter to Penn Presbyterian Hospital in West Philadelphia.
Police from various Delaware County municipalities searched nearby train tracks used by SEPTA and Amtrak. Officers asked neighbors to stay in their homes during the investigation. [[384278111, C]]
"I heard the shots. I looked out my windows and see police with sniper rifles running around," said witness Lawrence Ladd, who lives next to the apartment building.
Authorities focused on both the apartment complex and a black pickup truck. Shortly after 12 p.m., residents of the apartment building could be seen running from the three-story brick building with their hands raised.
Elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, sent their support to the officer.
