Alleged armed robbery suspect shot by police at King of Prussia Mall
UPPER MERION » Police have released additional details regarding the officer-involved shooting that occurred in a King of Prussia Mall parking lot around 4 p.m. Sunday.
According to a statement on the Upper Merion Township Police Department’s Facebook page, the man who was shot — whose name has not been released — is a serial robber who held up a female shopper at gunpoint Saturday, in the same parking lot where he was shot, while in the midst of an interstate crime spree.
On Sunday, detectives learned that the suspect had possibly returned to the scene of the crime and moved to apprehend him.
While attempting to flee in a Maroon Kia SUV — which he reportedly carjacked while committing a robbery and kidnapping in Newcastle, Del., on Oct. 27 — the suspect struck several patrol vehicles and tried to run down responding officers before police opened fire, striking him multiple times.
Police administered firstaid to the man at the scene and he was transported by Lafayette Ambulance to Paoli Hospital where he remains in serious condition.
Police began their investigation following the Oct. 28 armed robbery of a woman in the second level of the Green Deck parking garage between Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor at the south end of the Plaza by North Gulph Road.
According to a press release detailing the robbery, the victim was getting into her vehicle around 3:40 p.m. when she was confronted by the suspect, described as a tall, lightskinned black male, between 30 and 40-years-old, clean-shaven, with a medium build, a square face, a large forehead, rotting top teeth and a medium cropped box-type haircut.
The suspect, who was carrying a small semi-automatic handgun, reportedly entered the back seat of the victim’s vehicle, held the gun to her head and demanded her purse.
He was last seen fleeing the mall complex in the stolen Kia traveling north on North Gulph Road in the area of Seasons 52.
Upper Merion investigators working with the United States Marshal Service determined that the suspect was likely the same man alleged to have been involved with several other armed robberies, including two in Wilmington, Del.
He was known to be in possession of a 9mm handgun, which he reportedly fired at a fleeing victim during a previous robbery.
A 9mm handgun was recovered from the driver’s seat of the Kia.
The investigation into the shooting is being handled by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office. In a press release issued Monday, District Attorney Kevin Steele assured the public that the investigation would be “fair and thorough.”
“We will determine the circumstances that led up to the shooting and whether the decision to use deadly force is lawful in that situation,” Steele said. “Our personnel continue to gather evidence and statements and will evaluate everything available to us.”
In accordance with official policy, the officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.