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Police dodged bullets as they pursued a North Philly man who shot at three women in Bella Vista.
Three women were arguing with Isaac Carmichael who was trying to hit on one of them at 1:47 a.m. Sunday on the 600 block of South Street, Officer Jill Russell of the Police Public Affairs Unit said. When they tried to end the interaction, Carmichael is believed to have verbally abused them. He supposedly grabbed one of them, revealed his firearm tucked in his waistband and threatened them with it. As he walked across South Street, he allegedly pulled out the weapon and fired a shot toward the women.
The bullet struck a nearby car as the females fled, Russell said.
A sergeant and officer saw the shooting and ran after Carmichael who headed south on Seventh Street and west on Kater Street, Russell said. During the chase, Carmichael allegedly fired shots at both policemen. The pair continued to follow him until backup officers arrived to aid in his arrest.
Police allegedly recovered his .32 caliber semi-automatic that had one live round remaining and multiple casings along the pursuit route.
“This is an example of these officers’ bravery, exceptional thinking and awareness,” Russell said in an e-mail. “This was an area crowded with civilians, and these officers clearly would have been justified in returning fire, but they didn’t want to risk injury to any other civilians, so with disregard for their own safety, [and in an] effort to protect the public, they bravely continued to pursue this male until he was apprehended without discharging their weapons.”
Carmichael was charged with six counts of aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person; five counts of attempted murder; four counts of terroristic threats; three counts of possession of an instrument of crime; and two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer and firearm violations for not having a license and carrying in public, according to court records. He is being held without bail.
Contact Managing Editor Amanda L. Snyder at asnyder@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
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