A Philadelphia parking officer collapsed to the ground whilst on duty after being shot in the head during a horrific attack.
The 37-year-old traffic warden, who has not been identified, was shot at point-blank range in the City of Brotherly Love on November 25 at about 4pm.
CCTV caught the horrific moment the male officer was shot and collapsed to the ground as eyewitnesses rushed to help the traffic warden.
Emergency services were called to the scene and the man was taken to a nearby hospital, where he is now in a stable condition and should make a full recovery, according to police.
The officer was injured in the ear and between his shoulder, as cops believe he was a "target". Police have yet to make any arrests.
Philadelphia Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said: "It's bold. It's brazen and something we're definitely going to do everything we can to solve immediately.
"We believe he was the intended target,' he continued. 'We have some witnesses saying a car pulled up, shots were fired, and then a car pulled away."
Police officers are unsure if the man received a parking ticket and was acting out of revenge - as they look to discover the motivation behind the heinous attack.
Authorities confirmed an investigation into the names of the drivers the traffic warden had ticketed before the shooting is underway.
Mr Vanore added: "They're assisting us on going through what he did today and we'll go back through that very carefully to see what we could find out."
CCTV footage showed a hooded man in dark clothing and sneakers strolling down the street before heading to the parking officer and shooting him.
According to locals in Frankford, Philadelphia, the neighbourhood where the officer was working, the traffic warden is a "good guy".
Bamba Sissoko, from Frankford, told ABC6 : "He's a good guy, really nice guy."
The shooting comes just as figures revealed a 23 percent rise year-on-year of all crime in Philadelphia, as one social media user called their hometown a "war zone".
In 2022 alone, there have been 14,044 violent criminal offences reported to the Philadelphia Police - with one month still to go.
Earlier this year, authorities claimed the police "can't keep up" with the crime, as they pleaded with the city's mayor to help them.
On Monday, an order to stop citizens from carrying guns in parks and schools was signed in an effort to curb crime.
