January 25, 2016
Provided photo/Philadlephia Police Department
Edward Archer, 30 of Yeadon, Delaware County, is suspected of shooting Philadelphia Police Officer Jesse Hartnett late on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Archer allegedly pledge his allegiance to the Islamic State during an interview with police after his arrest.
The Monday preliminary hearing for a Delaware County man who claimed he was acting in the name of the Islamic State when he allegedly shot a Philadelphia police officer three times at point blank range, has been pushed back until March.
Edward Archer, 30, of Yeadon, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and related offenses in the Jan. 7 shooting in West Philadelphia, police said.
The hearing for Archer, who stepped off the corner at 60th and Spruce streets at about 11:40 p.m. that night and rushed at a police cruiser, allegedly firing 13 shots from a stolen police-issued handgun at Officer Jesse Hartnett, has been rescheduled for March 10.
At the time of his arrest, Archer allegedly confessed to shooting Hartnett – who was released from the hospital last week – and told investigators, "I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State," police said.
Hartnett, a four-year veteran of the department assigned to the 18th District, was hit three times in the left arm but managed to dodge 10 other shots in the incident. During the shooting, Hartnett fired back, hitting Archer in the buttocks.
