BREAKING: Car mows down pedestrian in Philadelphia – police open fire

A man in a black Honda targeted pedestrians this morning, hitting one man before being stopped by an off-duty police officer. 

The officer confronted the driver who reacted aggressively. The officer then shot the driver in the head. 

The driver has been taken to hospital in an “extremely critical condition”. 

A police spokesman said while only one person had been hit by the car, “multiple people” had been targeted. 

A police spokesman confirmed this afternoon was being considered as motivation. 

He said: “Anytime someone is trying to run people over we got to look at that angle and see what the investigation leads us.

“Police were alerted … to a reckless driver driving southbound on Broad Street towards Bigler. This driver was apparently attempting to run people over. 

“He struck the male, the male flipped up onto the hood of his car on the windshield.”

At this point the off-duty officer confronted the man. After firing a warning shot in the air, the officer shot the driver in the head. 

The incident took place at around 7.30am local time (12.30pm GMT). 

This is a developing story, more to follow…