Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia police have identified a man who was shot and killed by officers after he allegedly stabbed two children, including his own son, and attacked three other people.
Police identified the man as 32-year-old Christopher Sowell.
The attacks began shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday in the city's west Philadelphia neighborhood when the man grabbed his teenage daughter by the throat, slashed his 8-year-old son's throat and stabbed him before stabbing his son's 13-year-old friend. The boys remain in critical condition Thursday.
Authorities say Sowell then went to the nearby home of a family friend and attacked two women, slashing one and punching the other.
Police Commissioner Richard Ross says Sowell's daughter told police she thought her father was high on drugs. His aunt tells The Philadelphia Inquirer (http://bit.ly/2dqiapH ) that he began using drugs after losing his welding job.
___
Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.inquirer.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
