Authorities capture man accused of taking gun from scene of fatal Philadelphia police shooting

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities have captured a man accused of taking a gun last week from the scene of a shooting inside a Philadelphia store that left a man dead and a police officer wounded.

Jose Quinones-Mendez, 42, was arrested Wednesday night in Philadelphia, police said. He’s charged with tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice and a weapon offense. Court records were unavailable for these charges Thursday and authorities did not know if Quinones-Mendez has retained an attorney.

The shooting occurred Jan. 26, when two officers on routine patrol in the city’s Fairhill section entered the store and approached a group of men, authorities have said. Security video released by police shows two officers searching men for weapons before they wrestled 28-year-old Alexander Spencer to the ground and two shots rang out in a five-second span.

Authorities have said a shot fired by Spencer hit an officer in the leg, prompting the other officer to return fire, wounding Spencer. He was taken to a hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later. The wounded officer was treated at a hospital and the injury was not considered life-threatening.

Spencer’s gun appeared to kick out from the scrum, and was later grabbed by a man authorities say was Quinones-Mendez, who is seen on video recording the scuffle with a cellphone. He soon fled the store, and the two officers apparently did not notice at the time that the gun had slid away during the scuffle.

The two officers had their weapons holstered before the scuffle ensued, authorities said.