On Tuesday night, a Philadelphia delivery man wearing a hoodie was shot multiple times by police officers in plain clothes.

According to the officers in question, they thought Philippe Holland, a 20-year-old delivery man for Upper Darby's Slices and More Pizzeria and Grill, was about to run them over with his Ford Taurus. He has only been a part-time employee for a few weeks. According to Philly.com, Holland wasn't carrying a delivery bag because his order was small.

The incident happened a little before 10 p.m. on Tuesday. The police officers were in the area in response to gunshots they heard.

"They're surveying the area, and they see this male walking with a hoodie," Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross told NBC. "He's got his hands in his pocket and at that time, they order him to stop and identify themselves."

No one is sure if Holland heard the police officers. Regardless, he entered his car and started backing up.

"He may have thought he was being robbed," Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey told Philly.com. "Although the officers said they announced that they were officers, in an area like that, everyone was hypervigilant - both the officers and the person who was shot - and it turned out not to be a good result."

"They [the officers] believe they're being run over, and they fire their weapon," Ross explained.

Holland suffered gunshot wounds in his head, neck and leg. Currently he is recovering from surgery and is in critical but stable condition; he is incapable of speaking about the situation.

"He had two jobs," Tony Spirokostas, Holland's boss, said. "He had a day job at the airport [and] was going to school at Delaware County."

The police officers have been "taken off the street," as standard procedure, according to NBC. Philadelphia Police Department's Internal Affairs division is investigating. The department's use-of-force guideline states that officers "shall not discharge their firearms at or from a moving vehile unless deadly physical force is being used against the police officer or another person present, by means other than the moving vehicle."

"They feel terrible," Ramsey said of the officers. "It's just unfortunate all around, and we're just praying that this young man is able to fully recover."

---

Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @SH____4.

Related