*****UPDATED INFORMATION 29 OCTOBER 2017*****

The suspect in this incident is identified as Phillip Michael Whitted M/30 of Lancaster City. Whitted was at LGH for several days for medical treatment. 

After consultation with the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office, Det. Ginder filed a Criminal Complaint against Whitted, charging him with (2) Counts Aggravated Assault (F1), (2) Counts Simple Assault (M2), Recklessly Endangering Another Person (M2), Persons Not to Possess (etc,) Firearms (F2) and Firearms Not To Be Carried Without a License (F3). 

On Sunday 29 October 2017, Whitted was released from medical care at LGH. Whitted was transported to the Lancaster Bureau of Police for processing and then taken to LCP to be  held for arraignment. Bail information was not available as of the time of this release. 

The photo used in this release is a file photo from a previous incident. The booking photo from today was not accessible. 

All persons accused of a crime are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

*****Previously released information 24 October 2017*****

On Tuesday 24 October 2017 at approximately 1305 hrs. Officers from Platoon D responded to the 600 blk. S. Lime St. for a report of a shooting. Callers to 911 initially reported that people were shooting at a house and that there was a male with a shotgun in a rear yard of a home. A separate caller said that 2-3 people had been shot.

Officers arrived to the rear yard of a home on the odd-numbered/east side of the street. The first Officer into the rear yard saw two males and a female on a pile on the ground. A dog was actively biting people on their faces and heads. A bystander had been attempting to pull the dog away but the dog was not wearing a collar and could not be restrained or secured. The dog's owner was one of the people that had been bit and was in the pile of three people in the yard.

The dog's owner told the Officer to shoot his dog because the dog would not stop biting. The Officer waited until the dog's body was clear and discharged his duty weapon, shooting the dog in order to stop it from biting anyone else. 

The 3 people that were in the yard were separated. All (3) were suffering some level of injuries due to dog bites. None of the people involved had been shot. 

Officers spoke with witnesses and learned that a male had come to the residence on S. Lime St. in order to confront his brother. The suspect brandished a sawed-off shotgun and pointed it as his brother. A struggle ensued between the brothers for the shotgun. The victim's wife joined in the struggle for the shotgun. The wife was in possession of a small machete and was used it by striking the suspect on the back of his head in order to separate the suspect from the shotgun and her husband. 

The victim's dog managed to get loose and bit both owners and the suspect during the struggle for the shotgun. After several minutes of struggling, the suspect managed to discharge a round from the shotgun. Fortunately, no one was struck by the gunfire. The struggle for the gun continued as all three people were still on the ground.  A bystander attempted to secure the dog by grabbing it by the skin but he could not secure the dog. The dog kept getting loose and biting the victims and suspect.

Even though Officers were on-scene in less than 2 minutes after the time of dispatch, he struggle between the victims and suspect lasted several minutes before the first Officer arrived. 

The victims and suspect were all transported to a local hospital for treatment. The injuries received by all (3) do not appear to be life threatening. 

This incident is still under investigation. Detectives are currently in consultation with the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office. Once charges have been approved and filed, the suspect's name will be released. A supplemental news release will be published at that point.