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Police order passersby to leave the scene of the shooting in Philadelphia on August 14, 2019. MARK MAKELA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

Six policemen were wounded by gunfire Wednesday (August 14th) in Philadelphia, during a several-hour shootout with a sniper in a building that was arrested, local police said.

Philadelphia Police Chief Richard Ross told a press conference that all police officers had left the hospital after a few treatments. Two police officers who had once been stranded in the building where the gunman was located were finally released in the night, he added.

The incident began as a trivial case of drug trafficking. Police had come to make an arrest, Ross said, when the suspect started shooting at them, causing the police to retaliate. " It's really a miracle that in such a confined space we do not have to deplore a heavier balance sheet ," said the chief of police.

Arrest of the suspect

According to Philadelphia Police spokesman Eric Gripp, the special units were able to arrest the suspect and then inspect the entire building. Philadelphia Democrat Mayor Jim Kenney praised the city's police, but he also blamed politicians for the lack of measures to curb gun violence.

The incident comes after two mass killings in August, one in El Paso , Texas, the other in Dayton , Ohio, which killed 31 people in total and deeply shocked the United States.

( with AFP )