Officials released video of two men who they say attacked a student as well as two school police officers outside of a Northeast Philadelphia high school.
On Monday around 3:30 p.m., two school police officers were escorting students outside Northeast High School on Cottman Avenue after dismissal. Suddenly the officers spotted two men who were assaulting another student, investigators say. The officers separated the student from the two men in order to stop the attack, according to officials. The officers and the two men then began to argue which escalated into a physical confrontation. One of the officers, Lorenzo Tatum, told NBC10 one of the suspects pushed him from behind while the second suspect punched his partner.
"As I'm on the ground another guy who I didn't even see comes over, starts punching me," Tatum said. "The first suspect, he punches my co-worker again, breaking his jaw."
A third male suspect then joined in and all three began to attack the school officers, according to officials. Philadelphia police officers then arrived at the scene and the suspects fled east on Cottman Avenue.
Tatum suffered a sprained ankle and some bruises while his partner suffered a broken jaw and was taken to Temple University Hospital to undergo surgery.
The first suspect is described as a muscular African-American man in his mid-20s weighing 185 pounds with dreadlocks who was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.
The second suspect is described as a muscular African-American man around 20-years-of age with blonde and black hair standing 5-foot-10. He was last seen wearing a green muscle shirt and red sweat pants.
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The third suspect is described as a thin and muscular man standing 6-feet wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and black pants.
"It's just a matter of time," Tatum said. "You're going to get caught. So you might as well turn yourself in now."
If you have any information on the incident, please call Philadelphia Police.
