Teen charged as adult in Philadelphia trooper shooting

Police have charged Giovanni Cotto as an adult in connection with Tuesday’s altercation that began with a police pursuit on the Schuylkill and Vine Street expressways and ended in a fiery crash with a school bus.

State police say a 17-year-old charged with shooting a trooper during a chaotic auto chase in Philadelphia was the person driving the vehicle when it was stopped for an expired tag. 45 he’s accused of using to shoot Trooper Casey, State Police say, so far, they know it was stolen in a 2011 Georgia burglary after it was originally purchased in Texas in 2009. There were four males inside the auto, all of whom were removed from the vehicle by police.

Pennsylvania State Police are identifying the trooper shot during a traffic stop that turned violent in Philadelphia.

The suspect then allegedly opened fire on the trooper after pulling his auto alongside the trooper’s vehicle.

The charges stem from an incident that ended with the trooper shot and school bus in flames on I-676 Tuesday morning.

However, the chase did not end there, according to authorities. The trooper returned fire from inside the cruiser.

The school bus was reportedly empty when it was rocked by the suspects’ auto, and the driver was said to be uninjured. Luckily, there were no students on board the bus at the time of the crash, and the bus driver was not injured.

Trooper Casey was called as backup. State police expect the teenage shooter to be charged with attempted homicide.

“I heard what I thought was gunfire, and it turns out that it was”, he said. Other troopers rushed Casey to Hahnemann University Hospital where he is now listed in good condition.

– Patrick Casey, the Pennsylvania State Trooper who was shot on I-676 Tuesday morning, has been released from Hahnemann University Hospital. “I came out, there were cops down there, shooting at someone, and then someone was shooting at them”. I received an update from Acting Commissioner Blocker a short time ago and I am relieved to learn that the trooper is in stable condition at a hospital in Philadelphia. He says “no matter what happened, I’m going to be there for my son”.