A 26-year-old man allegedly rammed his SUV into a Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) station lobby Tuesday afternoon, injuring five civilians in what the city’s top cop called a deliberate act.
Dieufort Joly allegedly drove his black 2007 Hyundai Tucson south on Castor Avenue before smashing through the front of the 2nd Police District headquarters at around 1:40 p.m., PPD told the Daily Caller in a statement. Five civilians in the lobby suffered minor injuries from flying debris, though none faced life-threatening conditions. Joly exited the vehicle, walked onto Castor Avenue and was apprehended by officers.
Joly was transported to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital for medical treatment, released and then taken to the police facility for processing, PPD said. The building suffered extensive but not structural damage. Northeast Detectives are spearheading the investigation. (RELATED: Armed New York Man Rammed Car Into Power Station In Possible Terrorist Attack, Police Say)
PPD Commissioner Kevin Bethel said during a press conference that officers responded to a domestic dispute between Joly and his father around 11:45 a.m., 6ABC News reported. Bethel said nothing suggested Joly held any animosity toward police, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The suspect was unarmed when he exited the vehicle, Bethel stated.
“It was clearly an absolute deliberate act,” Bethel told reporters.
Prosecutors hit Joly with five counts of aggravated assault, five counts of simple assault, five counts of recklessly endangering another person, one count of causing or risking catastrophe, one count of institutional vandalism and one count of possession of an instrument of crime, PPD said.
Witness Clarence Armstrong Jr. told ABC7 Philadelphia he was steps away when the vehicle struck. “I hear the loudest boom. And shattering is one of the most startling sounds I think I ever heard in my life. Metal and glass everywhere, and still some moans and screams from people,” he said.
Bethel said he could not pinpoint a motive, saying he didn’t know what could have caused it “other than somebody who’s in a different state of mind,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The FBI is helping with the case.