What to Know
- Maurice Hill, 36, is accused of shooting six Philadelphia police officers during an hourslong standoff in the city's Nicetown-Tioga section.
- The investigation could take months to complete as bullet fragments are dug out of walls and police body cam footage is reviewed.
- Other people are facing drug charges related to the armed standoff.
Prosecutors building the attempted murder case against a Philadelphia man who authorities say shot six city officers and held two other officers hostage in a mass shooting and standoff last week have a mountain of evidence to comb through.
District Attorney Larry Krasner and his office said Monday that investigators were still retrieving bullet fragments from the walls and ceilings of homes and cars along the Nicetown-Tioga block where Maurice Hill engaged in a firefight with police on Wednesday.
Hill, 36, was arraigned Saturday on multiple criminal attempted murder counts for both the officers that were shot and those who were shot at. He is also charged with aggravated assault, assault on law enforcement officers, reckless endangerment, unlawful restraint, weapons charges, drug charges and other counts.
Hill, who is suspected of firing more than 100 rounds during a standoff that gripped the city and the nation, has been denied bail.
Prosecutors will review hours of surveillance video and 250 clips from police body-worn cameras, Krasner said.
"This city is reeling form what happened last week," Krasner said. "This is not just a factually complicated case, but it's a case that is still under investigation."
Four other men, whom Krasner did not identify, were charged with drug offenses in connection with the standoff but had nothing to do with the shootout. The drugs involved include barbiturates and marijuana, Krasner said at a brief news conference Monday morning.
"This case is a damning illustration of the twin epidemics of drug trafficking and gun violence, which most often prey on vulnerable communities, making our neighbors afraid to socialize on street corners or to let their children outside to play," Krasner said in a news release.
The DA promised the investigation "will be done correctly."
The standoff began along the 3700 block of N. 15th Street around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and ended shortly after midnight Thursday. Two officers and three civilians were safely evacuated before the arrest, having been trapped for hours in the same home as the shooter. Another officer was also injured in a car crash while responding to the standoff.
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Despite the heavy gunfire, everyone involved survived.
Hill used an AR-15-style rifle and a handgun during the shooting, said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross, who joined in on negotiations with the suspect during the standoff.
"I have to admit, I did not think that this guy was going to come out alive after several conversations with him and hearing a bunch of information throughout the afternoon," Ross said.
Krasner previously said the charges against Hill could ensure he will "never exit jail."
Hill has a criminal record that dates back almost two decades and includes convictions on illegal gun possession. He was first arrested as an 18-year-old in 2001 for illegally possessing a gun with an altered serial number, court records show. He was found guilty on five counts related to that arrest.
In 2002 he was arrested yet again and eventually pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and criminal conspiracy.
Hill would continue to be arrested over the years, with his crimes escalating in severity. In 2008, he was convicted of resisting arrest, criminal trespass and fleeing from police. Three years later, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and most recently was found guilty of perjury, in 2013.
Federal court records indicate he was convicted in 2010 of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to four years and seven months in prison, plus three years of supervised release.
Hill is scheduled to appear before a Common Pleas judge on Sept. 5 for a formal arraignment though Krasner cautioned that the hearing may be delayed because of the case's magnitude.
Hill's attorney has not responded to messages seeking comment.
Correction (Aug. 19. 3:02 p.m.): The district attorney's office has clarified that the evidence in this case includes about 250 clips of police body camera footage.
