Philadelphia police officer shot in West Philadelphia, 3 suspects in custody

This story originally appeared on 6abc.

Philadelphia police have identified the officer who was shot Wednesday during a traffic stop. Three suspects have been arrested in connection to the shooting.

Police say the injured officer is Giovanni Maysonet. The 32-year-old officer is a 5-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, and is assigned to the 19th District.

In a Wednesday night press conference, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the officer had been upgraded to stable condition after undergoing surgery.

“President John MeNesby is happy to announce that our fellow officer is out of surgery and is in stable condition,” Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 said in a statement. “He asks you to join him in wishing him a speedy recovery.”

Two suspects, a male and a female, were caught a short time after the shooting.

The third suspect, who police say was the alleged shooter, was arrested around 8:25 p.m. in the 6800 block of Guyer Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. He has been identified as 45-year-old Eric Haynes of Darby, Pa.

According to police, the incident unfolded at approximately 3:30 p.m. when Officer Maysonet and his partner were conducting a vehicle investigation of a silver, 1999 Lexus ES 300 on the 200 block of North 60th Street in West Philadelphia.

The partner, a 28-year-old officer and 4-year veteran of the force, approached the driver’s side door of the Lexus as Maysonet approached the passenger side door.

At that time, police say the passenger exited the vehicle and “turned away from Officer Maysonet.”

Police say, in response, Maysonet began “grasping around the male’s midsection with both hands, holding him.”

Police say the suspect then fired a gun at least twice towards Maysonet.

Police say Maysonet was shot in the stomach and the bullet went through his back. He also sustained a non-perforating gunshot wound to his bulletproof vest in the chest area.

The injured officer fell backwards onto the rear of the vehicle and then onto the ground.

The 28-year-old officer then fired several rounds towards the suspect.

They say he was not struck and ran from the scene.

Officer Maysonet was driven to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center by his partner. He was originally placed in critical condition and underwent surgery.

Police say investigators at the scene received information which led them to identify the shooting suspect as Haynes.

SWAT officers located Haynes in the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle in the rear alley behind Guyer Avenue.

He was taken into custody without incident. Haynes has been charged with Attempted Murder, Aggravated Assault, Assault of a Law enforcement Officer, and VUFA Former Convict, VUFA-No License, Possession of an Instrument of Crime and related offenses.

Police say a black semi-automatic firearm loaded with 17 live 9mm rounds, with one round in the chamber, was located on the cement driveway near the driver’s door of the vehicle that Haynes was arrested in.

The 28-year-old officer, who is assigned to the 19th district, has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the Officer Involved Shooting Investigation and Internal Affairs Investigation.

Outlaw says this incident should have never happened.

“I said before we don’t sign up to be martyrs. We don’t, you know, leave our families and everything, as we know, with the expectation of getting shot. We know it’s a potential danger, but this has to stop,” she said.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney added, “It’s just a very dangerous and difficult job done by very brave people. And they go out every day to try to keep us safe and put lives in harm’s way and their health in harm’s way and we can’t really repay them for doing that kind of work. Our prayers are with the officer and all our officers to make sure that he recovers and they stay safe.”

If you or someone you know has been affected by gun violence in Philadelphia, you can find grief support and resources online.