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Philly officer shot in the face, while helping to serve warrant

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia police officer was shot in the face and critically injured while helping fellow SWAT officers serve a warrant at a city home, authorities said Monday.

A man who authorities say shot at the officers, along with a 60-year-old woman in the home, were critically wounded in the shootout at about 6 a.m. Monday. It wasn’t immediately clear if the woman was shot by police or by the wounded man.

The person named in the warrant was being sought for weapons violations and was not in the residence at the time, authorities said. That person remains at large, and further details about the allegations were not disclosed.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross said the officer, 49-year-old Jason Potts, suffered a broken jaw and may have artery damage along with other injuries. Ross says Potts walked into the hospital and was expected to survive, but was under heavy sedation due to his injuries.

Potts is a 20-year veteran of the force. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said the married father of three was due to start a vacation on Monday.

After the SWAT team went through one door at the house, shots were fired through a second glass door and Potts was hit in the face, near his jaw, Ross said. Other officers returned fire, hitting the gunman.

The gunman and the wounded woman were transported to hospitals; their names and further details on their injuries and conditions were not immediately available.