The man accused of shooting a Philadelphia police officer over the weekend shot at police during a carjacking in Puerto Rico more than a decade ago, according to law enforcement sources and a Puerto Rican newspaper.
Ramon Rodriguez Vázquez, 36, is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, violation of the uniform firearms act, evading arrest and other related offenses.
Philly police officer shot in Kensington
The ordeal unfolded on Saturday, June 22, shortly before 8 p.m. when two 25th District Officers conducted a traffic stop on a 2003 dark blue Toyota Echo along the 3600 block of F Street in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. The traffic stop became a live stop and a call was made for a tow truck to confiscate the vehicle because the driver – later identified as Vázquez -- did not have a license and the car wasn’t registered, investigators said.
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The tow truck arrived at the scene and Vázquez made a phone call, according to officials. Two women and a man then arrived in a separate car and walked toward the Toyota Echo, police said.
The traffic stop then continued for another 30 minutes and the officers conducted an inventory of what was inside the car, according to investigators.
One of the officers then spotted a holster on the floorboard of the Echo, police said. It was at that point that Vazquez fled and the officers chased after him, according to investigators.
Vázquez then allegedly turned around and fired three shots toward the two officers, shooting one of them -- a 31-year-old officer and six-year veteran – in the neck. The wounded officer’s partner returned fire at Vázquez at least once, officials said.
The tow truck driver helped get the wounded officer into a car. The officer was taken to Temple University Hospital where he remains in critical condition.
Vázquez continued to flee with a gun in his hand, police said.
At some point he ran into a garage along G Street, took off a white shirt, left it on a sidewalk and continued fleeing with a dark shirt on, according to investigators.
Vázquez then arrived at G and Tioga streets where he tried to carjack a maroon minivan that was at the intersection, police said. He failed in his attempt however, according to Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore.
“He pulls the door. He opens the door. It looks like he’s attempting to take that vehicle over,” Vanore said. “The operator took off. Never got into that vehicle. We do not know who was inside that car. We’d loved to talk to them.”
After the failed carjacking, Vázquez continued to flee on foot and arrived at a home on East Schiller Street where he confronted a man who was sitting on the front step, police said. Vázquez allegedly threatened the man at gunpoint and forced him inside his home where he was barricaded inside.
“At the time he told me he was just sitting at his step,” the man’s neighbor, who did not want to be identified, told NBC10. “He was vaping and the guy just walks right in like he lived there.”
The neighbor told NBC10 Vázquez took his friend’s phone and made more calls in an attempt to get away.
“He grabbed his phone. His own cellphone. His own iPhone,” the neighbor said. “He grabbed his phone and he wanted to make all kinds of calls to help and to tell him where he’s at. ‘Come get me. I shot a cop. I shot him three times and the last shot apparently hit him in the neck.’”
At some point, Vázquez allowed the man to leave, officials said.
That man then told responding police officers that Vázquez was inside his home, according to investigators. After a barricade situation, Vázquez was arrested shortly after.
Vázquez remains in custody on $12.5 million bail and his next court appearance is scheduled for July.
The injured officer remains on life support. Officials have not released his identity to respect his family's privacy.
Both Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel and Mayor Cherelle Parker have asked city residents to pray for the officer as he continues to fight for his life.
Ramon Rodriguez Vázquez allegedly involved in a 2011 shooting
According to law enforcement sources and reports from a Puerto Rican newspaper, Vázquez was charged with attempted murder in connection to an incident that occurred in Puerto Rico back in 2011.
According to the report, Vázquez was charged with shooting at police officers when he was 21 years of age. At the time, police in Puerto Rico chased after Vázquez and another man for about nine miles in a vehicle that they had carjacked, the report said. During the pursuit, Vázquez and the other man fired shots at the officers but didn’t strike anyone, damaging their vehicle.
Both Vázquez and the other man were eventually captured and taken into custody at the Bayamón Prison in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, according to court documents.
