An elderly Philadelphia man died in a shootout with police Wednesday morning.
The victim has not been identified, and authorities did not confirm that he was killed by officers, local NBC affiliate WCAU reported. Responding officers said they believed the man was in his 70s.
The incident began when an officer on patrol spotted a pickup truck apparently crashed on the side of Roosevelt Boulevard in northeast Philadelphia, according to WCAU.
A cop exited his patrol car and asked the man with the truck if he needed help, but he was turned down and began walking back to his vehicle, local CBS affiliate KYW reported. However, as he was returning to his car, he heard multiple gunshots, according to police officials.
As the shots rang out, the officer took cover and called for backup, according to KYW. Additional cops arrived, and a standoff began, police said.
During the barricade situation, the man began throwing things out of his vehicle, but no officers opened fire, according to authorities.
Eventually, police called for a SWAT team. Police said the man opened fire on that team, and the SWAT officers returned fire, local Fox affiliate WTXF reported.
The man was later found dead inside the truck, according to WTXF. A gun was also found in the vehicle, according to police. No officers were wounded.
“We don’t know, as far as who struck who,” deputy police commissioner Frank Vanore said at a Wednesday morning press conference.
A witness told WCAU that the standoff and shootout lasted about 20 minutes.
“It was intense,” Evan Crookham told the station. “It was like a small warzone over there.”